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Sex trafficking plea deal unending ‘nightmare’ for Texas mom

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Irma Reyes’ mind raced as her husband drove through the predawn darkness toward a courthouse hundreds of miles from home: Don’t they know my daughter matters?Reyes had been barely able to eat since she heard that Texas prosecutors planned to let the two men charged with sex trafficking her daughter walk free. She was going to court to try to stop them.Reyes’ daughter was 16 in 2017, when men she knew only as “Rocky” and “Blue” kept her and another girl at a San Antonio motel where men paid to have sex with them. Now, the cases against Rakim Sharkey and Elijah Teel — who police identified as the traffickers — have seen years of delay, a parade of prosecutors, an aborted trial and, ultimately, a stark retreat by the government.They are among thousands of cases under a cloud of dysfunction at the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose legal troubles include a federal criminal investigation. Trafficking cases in particular have come under scrutiny and cast...

Is bringing back firing squads for executions a good idea?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The image of gunmen in a row firing in unison into the chest of a condemned prisoner may conjure up a bygone, less enlightened era. But the idea of using firing squads is making a comeback. Idaho lawmakers passed a bill this week seeking to add the state to the list of those authorizing firing squads, currently Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Fresh interest comes as states scramble for alternatives to lethal injections after pharmaceuticals barred the use of their drugs. Some, including a few Supreme Court justices, view firing squads as less cruel than lethal injections despite the violence involved in riddling bodies with bullets. Others say it’s not cut-and-dry, or that there are other factors to consider. Here is a look at the status of firing squads in the United States: WHEN WAS THE LAST EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD? Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed at Utah State Prison on June 18, 2010, for killing an attorney during a courthouse escape attemp...

Gwyneth Paltrow expected to testify in ski collision trial

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow and the man who broke four ribs after the two collided at a Utah ski resort seven years ago are both expected to testify on Friday in a trial over his claims that the movie star’s recklessness caused his concussion and lasting physical injuries.Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, the retired optometrist suing her, are expected to answer questions about the crash as their attorneys jostle to convince the 10-member jury who was responsible for the collision and who had the right of way as the skier farther downhill. Paltrow claims Sanderson was responsible for the crash.In a trial that Judge Kent Holmberg and attorneys for both parties have agreed will last eight days, with each side getting four to call witnesses, Friday marks the final day that Sanderson’s attorneys can compel Paltrow to testify. Next week, Paltrow’s team is expected to call medical experts, ski instrutors and her two children, Moses and Apple.The trial thus far has ...

In The Month Of Ramadan, We Honour Linda Mohamed Benallal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

BPR Ordered To Pay $485,000 In Municipal Bid Rigging Scandal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

Protest In France Enters Its 10th Day With Crowds Growing Larger Daily

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

Trump remains 'well liked' by Texas Republicans, Texas Politics Project poll says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former President Donald Trump will hold his first campaign rally ahead of the 2024 election in Waco Saturday. According to new polling by the Texas Politics Project, Trump "remains well liked among Texas Republicans."Trump's job approval rating was always high amongst Texas Republicans, never dropping below 78% throughout his presidency, according to the Texas Politics Project.His favorability ratings amongst Texas Republicans, and likely GOP primary voters, have remained consistently strong — even in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when Trump supporters attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Eighty-one percent of Republican voters surveyed in February 2021 said Trump's actions that day do not disqualify him from holding future office.A February 2023 survey of GOP Texas voters showed 56% wanted the former president to run for office again. Amongst independent voters, 63% said Trump should not run again, ...

NCAA men’s hockey: Minnesota’s third-period flurry buries any upset bid by Canisius

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

FARGO, N.D. — Seventeen years after its infamous first-round upset loss to Holy Cross in Grand Forks, Minnesota made sure to avoid a repeat in the Peace Garden State against Canisius on Thursday.The top-seeded Gophers answered with eight straight goals after trailing in the second period to claim a 9-2 win over the Golden Griffins in front of a sellout crowd of 5,061 fans at Scheels Arena.Two goals on a five-minute power play — after a major penalty and game misconduct were called against Canisius’ Stefano Bottini for contact to the head of the Gophers’ Jackson LaCombe — early in the third period allowed Minnesota some breathing room after a tightly-contested opening 40 minutes.Jimmy Snuggerud and Brody Lamb each scored on the five-minute advantage to give Minnesota a three-goal lead.Four more goals before the end of the night, including a hat trick from Bryce Brodzinski after his first would-be goal was disallowed when a review showed it didn’t cross the goal line...

SKY5 LIVE: Authorities pursuing stolen vehicle in Ventura County

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

Authorities pursued a stolen vehicle out of Ventura County on Thursday night.The stolen vehicle was reportedly taken from a liquor store in the Moorpark area. When California Highway Patrol tried pulling the suspect over, the driver sped off, leading authorities on a pursuit.The vehicle was seen speeding through red lights before parking momentarily at a Ralph's grocery store parking lot before speeding off again.A spike strip was thrown onto the vehicle's path on the 101 Freeway, puncturing the suspect’s tires. The driver slowed down and exited the freeway in Sherman Oaks. A successful pit maneuver shortly afterward disabled the suspect’s vehicle.Sky5 is overhead.

Turnovers, slow start doom Sharks in lopsided loss to Vancouver Canucks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:11:32 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 35th goal, a Canucks franchise record for a first-year player, to lead Vancouver to a 7-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.The Russian forward, who also had an assist, topped the 34 goals scored by Pavel Bure in 1991-92.J.T. Miller, Dakota Joshua, Conor Garland, and Phillip Di Giuseppe also each had a goal and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin and Sheldon Dries scored for Vancouver. Tyler Myers had a pair of assists and Thatcher Demko made 17 saves.Tomas Hertl and Andrew Agozzino scored for the struggling Sharks, who are winless in their last eight games (0-5-3). San Jose has not won in regulation since beating Seattle 4-0 on Feb. 20.Vancouver opened the scoring 6:15 into the first after Miller picked off Hertl’s pass at the Sharks’ blue line and snapped a shot past Reimer for his 29th goal.Kuzmenko made it 2-0 when he deftly moved the puck from his forehand to his backhand, then shoveled a shot in. Elias Pettersson...