Friday, May 13 top stories
It is Friday, May 13. Here are today’s top stories.
Convicted murderer escapes from custody in Texas
On Thursday, a Texas inmate who was serving a life sentence for murder, Gonzalo Lopez, escaped from prison custody in Leon County, Texas.
ABC News said he was in a transport bus that was en route to a medical appointment when he broke free from his shackles and overpowered the bus driver, stabbing him in the hand, before escaping. There were two officers on the bus but they couldn’t stop Lopez.
Leon County is about 130 miles south of Dallas. Local schools were closed as law enforcement conducted searches.
Russia extends Brittney Griner’s detention
WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia was extended for another month. Her lawyer said her case could go to trial soon.
Griner has been detained in Russia since February, before the war. Airport security said they found cannabis in her luggage, which is illegal in the country. Griner was charged with drug smuggling, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Biden administration says Griner is wrongfully detained. The WNBA and U.S. officials have been trying to get her released.
Elon Musk puts Twitter deal “on hold”
Elon Musk said this morning that his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter is “temporarily on hold” out of concerns about the amount of spam and fake accounts on Twitter. He said he wants to make sure that “spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.” He said he is still committed to acquiring Twitter.
Axios said “Musk’s takeover bid has been wrought with so many twists and turns that Wall Street is beginning to feel skeptical that it will even happen.”
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UK judge says calling a man bald counts as sexual harassment
A U.K. employment tribunal judge has ruled that calling a man bald can be considered sexual harassment because baldness is more prevalent in men than women.
The case was about a man who worked as an electrician for 24 years for a company before he was fired last year. The man said his superiors called him a “bald c——.”
The tribunal said if the word bald is used as an insult, that means it is directed towards a protected characteristic of sex (males). The judge said it is a similar kind of insult as if people commented on the size of a woman’s breasts. News reports said the fired employee is set to receive compensation.
Russian soldier goes on trial for war crimes
A Russian soldier appeared in a court in Ukraine for the first war crime trial since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The soldier is accused of murdering an unarmed 62-year-old man on a bicycle.
The soldier is 21 years old. The killing happened on February 28 in northeast Ukraine.
The Guardian explained that Ukrainian authorities said the soldier was in a convoy with Russian troops when they came under fire from Ukrainian forces. The soldier shot at a civilian’s car, got inside, and drove it away with four other soldiers. He then shot and killed the aforementioned civilian because he was talking on a phone and the Russian troops did not want their location to be reported by the civilian.
There will be two more Russian soldiers who will face their first hearings in a few days on allegations they used their military truck to shell homes and civilian buildings. There also will be a case about a Russian soldier who is accused of breaking into a house, murdering a man, raping his wife, and threatening their children.
Ukraine’s general prosecutor said they have registered over 11,200 war crimes.
Israeli police clash with mourners at Shireen Abu Akleh funeral
Today there were clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian mourners who were carrying the casket of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist who was shot and killed on Wednesday while she was reporting on an Israeli military raid in the West Bank.
A video shows Israeli police in riot gear using batons against people in a funeral procession. The conflict seems to be about whether the casket should be placed in a vehicle or carried on the shoulders of mourners.
The scene is sure to cause tensions surrounding the journalist’s death to rise even more. Palestinians and journalists who saw the shooting on Wednesday said it was an Israeli military bullet that killed her, while the Israeli military said they are still investigating.
That is all the top stories for this week. Have a good weekend and stay with the light.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-inmate-escape/?id=84693340
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/13/brittney-griner-detention-extended-russia
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/13/elon-musk-says-twitter-deal-temporarily-on-hold
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/13/calling-a-man-bald-counts-as-sexual-harassment-uk-judge-rules.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/13/shireen-abu-akleh-funeral-palestinians-israeli-police