Rex Heuermann's former classmate said, 'I was really scared of him. He was the type of guy if he snapped, he could really hurt you'

The father of the Liverpool footballer was handed over to UN and Catholic Church officials.

The Walt Disney Company has pulled the plug on a $1bn office complex in Orlando, following a warning from Disney leadership that billions of dollars in projects were on the line after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his feud with the company. The development scheduled for construction in the Orlando area was set to bring 2,000 jobs to the region, with 1,000 employees expected to be relocated from southern California. In an email to employees on 18 May, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chair Josh D’Amaro pointed to “changing business conditions” for the cancellation of the 60-acre Lake Nona Town Center project, according to The New York Times, which first reported the move. “I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” he added, noting that the company has still planned $17bn in projects over the next decade its Disney World campus. “I hope we’re able to,” he said. For years, Florida legislators and the governor’s office enjoyed a close relationship with the state’s largest taxpayers, among the state’s largest employers, which has wielded enormous political influence while bringing in billions of dollars to the state each year. Now, the company and DeSantis allies are suing one another, following a year-long feud over opposition to what opponents have called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that boiled over into political and legal battles that could shape the company’s business in the state. Moments after board appointed by Mr DeSantis voted to strip the company’s control of its Florida park, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and state officials alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” for “expressing a political viewpoint.” The lawsuit follows the governor’s state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of conservative activists and DeSantis loyalists, a move that followed Florida Republicans’ punitive measures against the company after its public opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Days later, the board voted to sue Disney in state court. In March, Disney slammed the governor’s “anti-business” approach to the company, which Mr DeSantis has accused of advancing a “woke agenda” while his administration targets LGBT+ people and their families with sweeping laws to control public school education, healthcare access and speech. The governor dissolved a decades-old municipal district that allowed Disney to control its own land use, zoning rules and public services, without putting a tax burden on Florida residents. In effect, Disney taxed itself to foot the district’s bill for its municipal needs. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger said on a conference call with analysts last week. A statement from Disney said the company has decided to pull out of the new campus construction “given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.” The “Parental Rights in Education Act” – what opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay” – prohibits instruction of “sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion “that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students” in other grades. The governor recently expanded the law to explicitly extend such restrictions to all grades. Critics have warned that the broadly written law threatens to freeze classroom speech involving LGBT+ people and issues, from civil rights history lessons to discussion of LGBT+ students, school staff and their families. Following passage of the Florida law, lawmakers across the US and in Congress have introduced similar legislation, including more than two dozen measures in current legislative sessions. Read More DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse ‘We will not be erased’: Critics slam Ron DeSantis for unprecedented bills attacking LGBTQ+ people Penguin Random House sues Florida school district over ‘unconstitutional’ book bans Florida teacher under investigation for showing Disney movie with LGBT+ character speaks out

Russia says its foreign minister will visit North Korea this week, days after the United States claimed Pyongyang has delivered munitions and military equipment to Russia for use in the fighting in Ukraine

Surveillance footage showed Kanu either being pushed out or falling from a vehicle in her final moments

Provides an overview Hong Kong and key facts about this special administrative region of China.

'RHOBH' star Lisa Rinna trolled over all-black look at Viktor & Rolf Couture fashion show: 'Looks super uncomfortable'

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private military were presumed dead in a plane crash that was widely seen as an assassination, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority

The University of North Carolina graduate student charged with fatally shooting his faculty adviser has been found unfit for trial after two mental evaluations

Vladimir Putin has been accused of “senselessly sending more Russians to die than at any time since the war began” as neither Moscow or Kyiv appear to be making any substantial advancement in the 21-month-old conflict. UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps made the strong claim on X, formerly called Twitter, as the Ministry of Defence released figures showing the number of Russians casualties had risen to an average 931 a day this month. The number, from Ukraine’s General Staff and described as “plausible” by the MoD, is higher than the previously reported deadliest month in March, when there were an average 76 deaths and injuries a day. The increase comes as Russia, which widened its conscription programme earlier this year, continues its assault on the key towns of Donbas and Avdiivka. Both attacks, the MoD say, contribute to the casualties. Mr Shapps wrote: “Putin is stepping up his invasion - senselessly sending more Russians to die than at any time since the war began. “Ukrainian bravery and western support is holding back their advance, but we cannot be complacent. Ukraine needs our unwavering support to fight and win.” Read More World’s attention must ‘stay on Ukraine’, warns ex-Nato chief 'You’ll die in this pit': Takeaways from secret recordings of Russian soldiers in Ukraine Dead, wounded or AWOL: The voices of desperate Russian soldiers trying to get out of the Ukraine war Kyiv hit by biggest Russian drone attack since war began

Britney Spears’ “The Woman in Me” remained the country’s top-selling book in its second week of publication, although the pace of sales fell substantially

As negotiations towards a new pandemic treaty pick up pace, observers warn of watered-down efforts to ensure equitable access to the medical products needed...