Florida passes a six-week abortion ban, and lawmakers in one state are getting closer to outright banning the app TikTok. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Friday, April 14, 2023.
Florida passes 6-week abortion ban
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, signed “The Heartbeat Protection Act” into law after the state House took a late vote Thursday, April 13, to pass the bill banning abortions after six-weeks of pregnancy.
After signing the bill, DeSantis said Florida is proud to support life and family. The bill not only enacts a six-week ban on abortion, which is often before many women know they are pregnant, it also includes $25 million in funding for clinics and organizations that provide counseling and resources for pregnant women.
It’s the latest state to make a decision on abortion rights since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer.
Pentagon leak suspect in court today
A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, charged in connection with the recent leak of sensitive intelligence documents online, is expected to make his first court appearance Friday in Boston. The suspect was taken into custody by the FBI Thursday as remnants of the leaked material continue to circulate online.
Jack Teixiera, 21, had the highest level of security clearance for top secret information according to an internal Department of Defense email.
The arrest came one week after the Pentagon first discovered some of its most highly classified documents posted on social media. The leak began last fall when the documents first started showing up on the gaming platform Discord.
Our Ryan Robertson spoke with a criminal defense lawyer for reaction to the arrest and discussed further repercussions Teixiera possibly faces over the leaked information.
City pays $9 million to settle Chauvin cases
The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay nearly $9 million to settle lawsuits filed by two people who said former police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into their necks years before he used the same move on George Floyd in 2020.
Both of the lawsuits stem from arrests made in 2017, in which body camera footage shows Chauvin kneeling on both suspect’s necks. The mayor of Minneapolis said Chauvin should have been held accountable then.
Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of Floyd. The city also paid $27 million to Floyd’s family.
Montana closer to outright TikTok ban
While the app TikTok has been banned on government phones and devices in the U.S. Montana lawmakers are looking to go a step further. They are moving closer to passing a bill that would out-right ban TikTok from operating in the state.
The bill has already passed the state Senate chamber and the state House endorsed the bill in a 60-39 vote on Thursday. House lawmakers are likely to put it up for a final vote Friday before the bill goes to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Though signs point to it passing, there are also early indications of legal challenges to follow. But it will serve as a testing ground for a “TikTok-free America” that many lawmakers have signaled support for, citing security concerns over the Chinese-based app.
Commanders to sell for record amount
The longtime owner of the Washington Commanders, Dan Snyder, has reached an agreement in principle to sell the team for $6 billion. The buyers group includes businessman Josh Harris and NBA legend Magic Johnson.
If the deal is approved, it would be the highest price ever paid for an NFL franchise, far surpassing the $4.6 billion the Denver Broncos sold for last year.
$100k worth of dimes stolen from truck
Police in Philadelphia are searching for a suspect who broke into a truck in a Walmart parking lot and stol more than $100,000 worth of dimes. That is more than one million dimes the suspects got away with. Police said at the time the truck was carrying $750,000 thousand worth of the coin.
The suspects left a path of thousands of dimes scattered across the parking lot and onto a nearby road during its escape. The truck driver said he had picked the coins up from the Philadelphia Mint, and parked the trailer in the parking lot overnight.
