A British official steps down after accusations of bullying. Involuntary manslaughter charges have been dropped against actor Alec Baldwin. And SpaceX’s starship rocket ship explodes four minutes into flight. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Friday, April 21, 2023.
British Deputy Prime Minister resigns following bullying investigation
British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned from the government following an independent investigation into complaints that he bullied colleagues. It’s the latest scandal to force out one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s top leaders. This marks the departure of the third senior member over their personal conduct in the last six months.
The months-long investigation concluded Raab bullied his staff while serving in high office. He accepted the outcome of the inquiry. And in a statement said he was genuinely sorry. Raab also said the bullying probe set a dangerous precedent for quote “setting the threshold for bullying so low.”
Charges against Alec Baldwin dropped
New Mexico prosecutors confirmed they are dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin. He was charged for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” 18 months ago.
Prosecutors said new facts in the case were revealed that require further investigation, and that their decision does not absolve Baldwin of culpability. Prosecutors say charges could be refiled depending on the new investigation’s outcome.
Following the news, Baldwin posted a photo of himself and his wife on instagram saying he owes everything to her and his lawyer.
The charges against the film’s weapon supervisor remain unchanged. Production on the film resumed Thursday, April 20.
6-year-old shot retrieving basketball from yard
A North Carolina man is accused of shooting and wounding a 6-year-old girl and her parents after the girl went to retrieve a basketball that went into his yard.
Twenty-four-year-old Robert Louis Singletary turned himself in to authorities in Florida. He is expected to appear in court April 21 for extradition back to the Charlotte area.
The little girl had a bullet fragment in her cheek and has since been released from the hospital. The girl’s mother was grazed by a bullet and her father remains hospitalized.
SpaceX’s starship launches, blows up
SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, exploded just minutes into its first test flight. SpaceX said multiple engines on the 33-engine booster were not firing as the rocket ascended, causing it to lose altitude and begin to tumble.
Instead of a best-case-scenario of a 90 minute flight, the whole thing lasted four minutes. Nobody was on board the rocketship.
Eventually, Starship is the model CEO Elon Musk would like to send people to space in. Musk tweeted a congratulations to the team for the test launch and said the company learned a lot for the next test launch in a few months.
Buzzfeed News shuts down, parent company cuts staff by 15%
Digital media outlet Buzzfeed News is being shut down as part of a cost-cutting drive by its parent company. The company is looking to shed about 15% of its entire staff, adding to layoffs made earlier this year.
The company’s CEO said he made the decision to overinvest in the news division, but the financial support needed to sustain operations was too much.
In addition to the news division being cut, layoffs will take place in its business, content, tech and administrative teams.
Digital advertising has plummeted this year, cutting into the profitability of major tech companies from Google to Facebook. Waves of layoffs have rolled through the tech industry and more are expected.
$15 million in gold, valuables stolen in airport heist
Police in Canada are investigating after an air cargo container carrying nearly $15 million in gold and other valuables vanished from Toronto’s international airport on Monday, April 17. Ever since, police have been investigating but can’t link the heist back to any suspects.
Authorities have called the circumstances surrounding the stolen gold “a mystery.” An aircraft arrived at the often-busy airport in the early evening. It was unloaded and its cargo was transported to a holding facility as per normal procedure. What happened to the precious cargo once it was offloaded is a mystery.
The incident appears to be one of Canada’s biggest heists ever.
