DeSantis signs bill requiring ‘moment of silence’ in Florida schools
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida K-12 public schools must hold a moment of silence at the start of each day starting next school year, after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Monday requiring the practice.
The bill drew criticism from liberal groups that it amounts to government-required prayer, but Republicans and some Democratic supporters during the hearings on the bill insisted it was not requiring prayers but merely a moment of reflection and silence.
DeSantis, though, explicitly couched the new law as a way to bring God into the classrooms.
“The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I’m sorry, our Founding Fathers did not believe that,” DeSantis said before signing the bill.
But bill sponsor Rep. Randy Fine said the bill was “not a prayer in school bill,” during debate on the House floor when it passed in March. He suggested students could use the time to think about homework or “get centered before the start of the day.”
Fine attended the bill signing ceremony, which took place at a Jewish community center in Miami-Dade County, but didn’t talk about the bill in his brief remarks, which instead touched on the increase in anti-Semitic attacks across the country.
But Rep. Michael Caruso, R-Delray Beach, called the bill “the first step in getting God back in our communities.”
DeSantis also signed HB 805 at the event, which allows volunteer ambulance services, such as Hatzalah, a South Florida volunteer emergency response team for Jewish communities, to legally respond to emergencies, including with emergency lights on their vehicles, just as regular ambulances and first responders have.
—Orlando Sentinel
‘Serial stowaway’ could wind up in mental health court
CHICAGO — The woman known as the “serial stowaway” for her penchant for attempting to sneak onto flights could be transferred this summer to a specialized “problem-solving court” for defendants with mental health concerns.
Admission to Cook County’s mental health court would mean a court-monitored treatment plan for Marilyn Hartman, as well as a sentence of probation — a sentence that her current judge recently said she would not agree to.
While Judge Peggy Chiampas on Monday signed an order referring Marilyn Hartman to screening for possible admission to mental health court, she said Hartman’s case would stay in her courtroom until after her eligibility is determined.
Among other requirements, defendants in mental health court must have a diagnosed mental illness and have no recent history of violent crime. Hartman is believed to meet those criteria.
Female defendants are placed on the mental health court docket overseen by Judge Domenica Stephenson, then plead guilty and enter a two-year probation program with a customized treatment plan.
Entry into the program would mean Hartman avoids the prison sentence Chiampas said she would likely insist upon. Before Hartman’s most recent arrest, her attorney had reached a plea deal with prosecutors that would have sentenced her to probation.
But Chiampas said she would not sign off on that, noting that Hartman has repeatedly violated terms of probation and bond.
—Chicago Tribune
Second suspect arrested in Austin shooting
AUSTIN, Texas — A second person — a 17-year-old — has been arrested in the mass shooting on Sixth Street that killed a tourist from New York and left 13 wounded, the Austin American-Statesman has confirmed.
Jeremiah Roshaun Leland James Tabb was taken into custody in Killeen. He is charged with aggravated assault as an adult under Texas law; another suspect arrested earlier is a juvenile.
Police officials and prosecutors Monday were still considering what additional charges both suspects will face, but officials have said the charges could include murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. The investigation into who fired a gun — or whether both of them opened fire — is ongoing.
Investigators have not released a possible motive or described what may have prompted the gunfire that caught victims in the crossfire. Two people were critically wounded, including 25-year-old Doug Kantor, who died of his injuries. Family members say he had recently completed graduate school and was soon to be married.
—Austin American-Statesman
Tropical depression off NC could soon become Tropical Storm Bill
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Bill, the second named storm of 2021, could soon form from a tropical depression located off the coast of North Carolina, forecasters said Monday.
Tropical Storm Bill is expected to form by Monday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Radar and satellite data from the weather service showed an uptick of thunderstorm activity within the system, known as Tropical Depression Two. As of 5 p.m. EDT Monday, the tropical depression slowed slightly and was moving northeast at 18 mph off Cape Hatteras with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. Tropical storms form when winds speeds reach a minimum of 39 mph.
“Warm waters of the Gulf Stream have nurtured the system this past weekend and may continue to do so long enough in the short term for tropical storm generation,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
The forecast path tracks to the northeast away from the U.S. and then off toward Nova Scotia by Wednesday. It is not expected to develop further after that, experts said.
Tropical Storm Ana, the first named storm of 2021 developed in late May, several hundred miles from Bermuda.
—South Florida Sun Sentinel
