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1. Judge approves settlement as Surfside marks 1 year since condo collapse
A judge on Thursday signed off on a settlement of more than $1 billion for the victims of the Surfside condo collapse and their families, stunning nearly everyone involved for its amount and how quickly it came about.
A Dubai-based developer recently purchased the property for $120 million. Of that figure, $96 million is going to condo owners and their heirs. Plans for the site include a luxury condo.
A public memorial will be held today at the site of the Champlain Towers South. Dr. Jill Biden will deliver remarks at the service and will be joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell and Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, according to the first lady’s office.
2. Senate approves landmark gun violence bill which heads to the House
The Senate approved a bipartisan gun violence bill late Thursday, clearing the way for expected House passage Friday of what will be Congress' most far-reaching response in decades.
The $13 billion measure would toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged dangerous. It would also fund local programs for school safety, mental health and violence prevention.
On the same day, the right-leaning Supreme Court issued a decision expanding the right of Americans to carry arms in public by striking down a New York law requiring people to prove a need for carrying a weapon before they get a license to do so.
3. Royal Palm Beach man carrying gun, ammunition into Disney Springs arrested
Aaron Lopez, 35, walked through checkpoint security at Disney Springs on May 27, when the detection system alerted security, sending Lopez to the bag check area, according to the arrest affidavit.
Lopez said he had a knife in the bag, but deputies said Lopez was found to be carrying a black and bronze 9mm Glock handgun, two Glock 19 magazines with 17 rounds of ammo in each, one box with 14 rounds of ammo and 48 rounds of miscellaneous ammunition.
Lopez was booked into Orange County jail on a charge of carrying a concealed firearm without a license.
4. Jan. 6 House Committee hearing focuses on Trump's DOJ pressure amid 2020 election
The fifth House Jan. 6 Committee hearing presented evidence and testimony and showed the pressure then-President Donald Trump put on the Department of Justice amid a frantic appeal by Trump loyalists to try and change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Hearing leaders focused on Trump's requests to install new leadership at the Justice Department in order to pursue unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in the United States, which later included trying to stop the certification of votes that would lead to President Joe Biden's election to the White House.
Jeffrey A. Rosen testified in the Senate that he joined Barr in the belief that there was no evidence of a stolen election. He told the Senate that Trump contemplated replacing him just weeks after becoming acting attorney general with Jeffrey Clark.
5. Attorneys move closer to seating jury in Parkland school shooter's sentencing trial
With less that two weeks before opening statements are expected to begin in the sentencing trial for Nikolas Cruz, the quest to find a fair and impartial jury pushed ahead Thursday.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty to killing 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
This trial is all about determining his punishment. It will be up to jurors to decide if he should face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
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On This Day In History
In the pre-dawn hours of June 24, 2021, part of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., suddenly collapsed, killing 98 people.
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