Iowa superintendent arrested by ICE loses license, placed on leave
DES MOINES, Iowa (NYT) — The public school system in Des Moines remained in upheaval on Monday as district leaders struggled to respond to the detention of their superintendent, Ian Roberts, and accusations by federal law enforcement that he had been living and working in the country illegally.
During a hastily scheduled meeting Monday evening, school board members voted 6-0 to place Roberts on unpaid leave, a day after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked his state license. Roberts, who was placed on paid leave Saturday, is being held in a jail nearly 200 miles away.
All of it left residents of Iowa’s capital city confused, concerned and unsure how to square their impressions of Roberts, whose vision for the school district was embraced by many, with claims by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he had faced a deportation order since last year and had fled from officers when they approached him Friday.
“Two things can be true at the same time — Dr. Roberts was an effective and well-respected leader, and there are serious questions related to his citizenship and ability to legally perform his duties as superintendent,” Jackie Norris, the school board chair who is also a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said in a statement before the meeting.
Dar Global to launch $1B Trump project in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah
DUBAI (Reuters) — Saudi real estate developer Dar Global plans to build a $1 billion Trump Plaza project in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah as U.S. President Donald Trump’s family business expands in the Gulf, the company said on Monday.
The project will be the second Trump-branded development in the kingdom after the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah last year, Dar Global said in a statement.
The bulk of the Trump Organization’s business is in the United States, but it has significant interests overseas, including in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It has partnered with Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company, on several projects, which include plans for Trump towers in Dubai and Jeddah as well as a real estate project in Qatar.
The Jeddah Plaza project will include premium residences and serviced apartments as well as office space and exclusive townhouses, Dar Global said, adding it would also feature a Central Park-inspired park running the length of the development.
Florida man is accused of killing, cooking and eating pet peacocks
(NYT) — A Florida man killed, cooked and ate two of his pet peacocks amid a feud with one of his neighbors, according to law enforcement officials.
The man, Craig Vogt, 61, of Hudson, Florida, was arrested on Sept. 23 and charged with a felony count of aggravated animal cruelty after he placed a letter in a neighbor’s mailbox telling her that he had killed two of his peacocks “because she continued feeding them,” according to an affidavit prepared by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the affidavit, Vogt described killing one of the birds by “cutting the peacock’s neck with a knife and then cooking it in a frying pan.” He delivered the letter to his neighbor’s mailbox to “prove a point that he will continue to kill his pet peacocks if she continues to feed them,” the document states.