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2024 trial date set for 2 men in Vermont murder-for-hire case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Two men facing federal charges connected to the 2018 abduction and killing of a Vermont man are scheduled to go on trial in the fall of 2024, a judge decided Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford set an Oct. 7, 2024 start date for the trial of Serhat Gumrukcu, of Los Angeles, and Berk Eratay, of Las Vegas. They pleaded not guilty last year to a charge of wire fraud as part of an alleged international murder-for-hire conspiracy that was tied to an oil deal. The two men were previously charged with arranging to have the third defendant, Jerry Banks, kidnap and kill Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville, Vermont.Banks, of Colorado, who prosecutors say abducted and killed Davis, changed his plea to guilty earlier this month. Prosecutors say Banks was part of a plot that began when Davis had been threatening to go to the FBI to report he’d been involved in a fraudulent oil deal with Gumrukcu. Davis’ body was found by the side of a snowy Vermont back road.A f...

Oath Keepers lawyer’s trial delayed for competency treatment

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The trial of a lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group will be delayed so she can get treatment she needs to be mentally competent to stand trial, a judge decided Friday. Kellye SoRelle is charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, but experts for the prosecution and defense found she is not competent for a trial that had been set for July. Those evaluations predicted that three to four months of treatment can restore her to competency, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said.She has pleaded not guilty and been free pending trial in Texas. Defense attorney Horatio Aldredge agreed an in-patient treatment program will be required once a spot becomes available. Attorneys did not disclose details of her condition, and Aldredge’s office declined additional comment on her behalf. SoRelle, who served as general counsel for the antigovernment group, was photographed with leader Stewart Rhodes outside the Capitol...

Next round of COVID-19 shots in fall will target latest omicron strain

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The next round of COVID-19 vaccines will target one of the latest versions of the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.FDA’s decision came one day after an agency panel of outside advisers supported the recipe change. The agency told vaccine makers to provide protection against just one omicron strain, known as XBB.1.5. Today’s shots include the original coronavirus and an earlier version of omicron. They do still help prevent severe disease and death even as XBB variants have taken over. But protection gradually wanes over time and was short-lived against milder infection even before the virus, inevitably, evolved again.The three U.S. companies that make COVID-19 shots said this week they had geared up to make the formula change, in anticipation of making many millions of doses available for the fall. One company, Pfizer, said it could have at least some doses ready as early as next month.The Centers for Disease Control and Preventio...

‘Corrupt’ OPP officer guilty of sex assault dismissed after years on paid leave

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

An Ontario Provincial Police officer convicted of multiple criminal offences has been dismissed after years of being on paid leave.OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique says Const. Jason Redmond of the Leeds County detachment was terminated Thursday after abandoning his appeal to overturn a dismissal order.The OPP has terminated the employment of Jason Redmond. Further details are available in the attached statement, which has been issued to the media. pic.twitter.com/mXPzUnDS06— Thomas Carrique (@OPPCommissioner) June 16, 2023“The corrupt, disgraceful and criminal behaviour of this individual is inconsistent with the exemplary conduct of OPP members and our values of serving Ontarians with pride, professionalism and honour,” Carrique said in a statement. “This behaviour also undermines the selfless and heroic acts our officers perform every day while serving and protecting our communities.”Redmond was charged in November 2015, and subsequently convicted in ...

5 sailors injured when US Navy watercraft crashes off California coast

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A small Navy watercraft crashed off the California coast in the pre-dawn hours Friday, injuring five sailors with a Naval Special Warfare unit, an official said.The vessel hit the Zuniga Point Jetty as it entered San Diego Bay about 1:50 a.m., Naval Special Warfare spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Chelsea K. Irish said in a statement.None of the injuries was life-threatening. Three of the sailors were released from the hospital, and two are in stable condition, Irish said. The sailors are part of a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit and were participating in a routine training exercise, Irish said. The Navy is investigating the cause. The Associated Press

S&P/TSX composite edges lower Friday, U.S. stock markets also decline

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index drifted lower Friday, pulled lower by energy, technology and base metals, while U.S. markets also ended the day down after a busy week of economic data and an interest-rate pause from the central bank.  Markets gave back some of their gains but still finished the week strong, said Monda Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones.“I think we’re just taking a bit of a breather before a long weekend here in the U.S.,” she said. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 51.98 points at 19,975.37.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 108.94 points at 34,299.12.The S&P 500 index was down 16.25 points at 4,409.59, while the Nasdaq composite was down 93.25 points at 13,689.57.The big news item for the week was the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold its key interest rate steady for the first time since it began its tightening cycle last year. While the announcement was largely anticipated Wednesday, the central ...

African descent advisory group feels lied to over police return to Vancouver schools

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

VANCOUVER — Members of the African descent advisory committee for the Vancouver Police Department say they feel they were lied to over the process to reinstate a program that deploys armed officers to public schools.Parker Johnson said he and the other committee members had “unanimously and unreservedly” determined they did not want police returning to schools this fall, and they were surprised to learn Thursday that a decision had already been made.Johnson was among those who walked out of a Vancouver Police Board meeting, where board member Rachel Roy resigned over the handling of the re-introduction of the contentious program that had been scrapped by the previous school board in 2021.Newly elected school trustees voted five-to-four last November to bring back a “reimagined” program, while the police board voted to approve the department’s budget, which included an allocation for the school liaison officer program.Video from the previous police board...

Father of Highland Park mass shooter appears in court

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- The father of a man charged with fatally shooting seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago appeared in court Friday.Robert Crimo Jr. entered a not guilty plea in February to charges that he helped his son obtain a gun license three years before the attack.He was arrested and charged in December 2022 on seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one count for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum 3-year prison term. These are the victims of the Highland Park parade shooting Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart has said the accusations against Crimo Jr. are based on his sponsorship of his son’s application for a gun license in December 2019.“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Rinehart said after the father’s arrest. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”Legal experts have...

7 year-old's wish to see Taylor Swift in concert 

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. (KTVI) — Seven year-old Alma Lacoste lives life a little differently than many other kids her age. Alma was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine, and which limits her mobility. She uses a wheelchair — and when she's at her O'Fallon, Missouri, home, she crawls. “Since April, she has been in the hospital four times with two surgeries,” said Kayla Buckowitz, Alma's mother. “... It's really hard just to see her have to go through so much.” Man says Tesla’s security camera caught woman vandalizing vehicle The 7 year-old has been in and out of hospital rooms since she was born. She also lives with hydrocephalus and epilepsy. Buckowitz says Alma has probably had around 10 surgeries in her young life. Her first surgery happened while she was still in the womb. Through it all, there’s been one constant: Alma's love for music superstar Taylor Swift. She says she loves to sing Taylor's hits everywhere, from home to her hospital bed.“She’s my favorite,...

Trucking company using video game billboards to recruit drivers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:19:58 GMT

(The Hill) – Transportation and logistics company Schneider National is going to new frontiers to find its next generation of truckers. The company announced last week that it is partnering with video game “American Truck Simulator” to recruit drivers with virtual billboards.“American Truck Simulator,” developed by Czech firm SCS Software, gives players a chance to head their own independent logistics firms. The first-person perspective puts the player in the virtual cockpit of real 18-wheeler as they drive across the American West hauling cargo, and if they want to avoid fines, obey traffic laws.Advanced simulation monitors everything from brake bias to transmission changes, and the most dedicated players own complex control setups meant to mimic actual trucks, according to the game's website.On the roadside, players see billboards just like anyone does on the side of an interstate. But instead of advertisements for a fast food restaurant, upcoming gas station or a lawyer's fi...