Commissioner Gold Resigning
Saying he could now better serve the community, state, and nation in other capacities, Marion County Commissioner Jeff Gold has decided to call it quits. Gold sent his resignation letter to County Commission Chair Craig Curry dated May 23rd. Gold said he would submit his resignation letter to Governor DeSantis after the July board meeting.
Robocall Companies Get Hit Hard
Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry. The 141-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom and its officers. The lawsuit alleges the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and other federal and state telemarketing and consumer laws. In addition, the lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.
McCarthy Sends Envoy To White House
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday he was sending Republican negotiators to the White House to finish debt limit talks. However, he warned that the two sides are “still far apart” as they try to reach a budget deal with President Joe Biden. Nevertheless, McCarthy said he remained optimistic they could make progress in hopes of an agreement before a deadline as soon as next week when the Treasury Department could run out of cash to pay its bills.
Typhoon Slams Guam
Typhoon Mawar rumbled through Guam as a powerful Category 4 storm on Thursday, relentlessly lashing the U.S. Pacific island territory with heavy rain, powerful winds, and a dangerous storm surge and knocking out power to many communities where frightened residents hunkered down for the night in homes and shelters. The typhoon’s center passed over the northern tip of Guam on Wednesday evening. It is the strongest storm to hit the territory of over 150,000 people in decades, with sustained winds of 140 mph.
Indian River Sheriff Foils Escape Attempt
Indian River County authorities have foiled an escape attempt by multimillionaire John Manchec. With the help of outsiders, corrections officers were to be overcome while Manchec was at an outside medical appointment. From there, the multimillionaire was to be flown to France on his private jet parked in Ft. Pierce. Instead, the 78-year-old is in jail on child pornography charges and skipped bail once returning to France and safety. But he made the mistake of traveling to the Dominican Republic in 2020 and was captured. He has been in jail since.
Tina Turner Dies
Tina Turner, the pioneering rock’n’roll star who became a pop behemoth in the 1980s, has died after a long illness. She had suffered ill health in recent years, being diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and having a kidney transplant in 2017. Turner affirmed and amplified Black women’s formative stake in rock’n’roll, defining that era of music. Tina Turner was 83.
