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Court throws out conviction after judge says Black man ‘looks like a criminal to me’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

By ED WHITE (Associated Press)DETROIT (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday overturned the drug conviction of a Black man, saying his rights were violated by a Detroit federal judge who was upset over delays in the case and declared: “This guy looks like a criminal to me.”“Such remarks are wholly incompatible with the fair administration of justice,” the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III, who is white, apologized nearly two years later when the case against Leron Liggins finally was ready for trial. He explained that he was mad at the time “and I regret it.”Nonetheless, the appeals court said Murphy should have removed himself as Liggins’ attorney had requested. The court threw out a heroin distribution conviction and 10-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial with a different judge.Allowing the conviction to stand “would substantially undermine the public’s confidence in the j...

Patriots training camp Day 9: Jack Jones stops practicing, Mac Jones keeps rolling, Kendrick Bourne catches on

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

FOXBORO — History would suggest Jack Jones sauntered off the Patriots’ practice field by himself after receiving zero medical attention Thursday because he was ejected.A minute before he left, Jones broke up a pass intended for Kendrick Bourne during an 11-on-11 period. A crowd of players immediately gathered at the spot where they had fallen near the defensive sideline. After standing up, Jones spoke with Jabrill Peppers as they paced the sideline together and walked away from the play.Then, the young corner walked away from everybody, his head down as he ambled down a staircase and back into the stadium. It was the same path dozens of Patriots have taken over two decades under Bill Belichick for fighting, throwing a punch or committing some other cardinal sin of practice.Except 20 minutes later, Jones returned.He strolled back onto the same field and took a knee on the defensive sideline, where director of player personnel Matt Groh dropped to his level. They spoke for just ...

Climber who died on El Cajon Mountain remembered as loving husband, teacher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Thirty-four-year-old Adam Shmidt is being remembered as a man who gave everything he did -- his all -- as a teacher, loving husband and avid climber. Shmidt died while hiking and climbing El Cajon Mountain, or El Capitan, in Lakeside. He left home to hike around 9 a.m. Monday, and was supposed to return home by 2 p.m. When he didn't come home, his family called authorities. On Tuesday around 8:45 a.m., crews found a man’s body in their search for a 34-year-old hiker near one of the hiking trails on El Cajon Mountain. Mountain biker dies while trying to save dehydrated hikers in Jacumba Becca Fink, Shmidt's wife of 13 years, told FOX 5, "... on July 31 he went to the place where he felt most connected to himself and nature. Adam died doing his favorite thing in his favorite place."She shared the following words to honor her husband:"Adam Shmidt seized every opportunity that life gave him. If he had an interest in something, it would fully consume him. As summer began, ...

Florida man who dropped appeals is executed for 1988 hammer killing of a nurse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

A Florida man who recently dropped all legal appeals was executed Thursday for the 1988 murder of a woman who was sexually assaulted, killed with a hammer and then set on fire in her own bed.James Phillip Barnes, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. Lying on a gurney, Barnes appeared to already have his eyes shut when the curtain was opened for witnesses. He didn’t respond when prison officials asked if he had a final statement, and he remained motionless except for breathing for about 10 minutes until that stopped. A doctor then pronounced him dead. The 61-year-old inmate was sentenced to death for the murder of nurse Patricia “Patsy” Miller. It was the fifth execution in Florida this year.Barnes was serving a life sentence for the 1997 strangulation of his wife, 44-year-old Linda Barnes, when he wrote letters in 2005 to a state prosecutor claiming responsibility for killing Miller years earlier at her condomini...

A Learjet pilot thought he was cleared to take off. He wasn’t. Luckily, JetBlue pilots saw him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

Federal investigators said Thursday that the pilot of a charter jet took off without permission, creating a “conflict” with a JetBlue plane that was preparing to land on an intersecting runway at Boston’s Logan International Airport in February.A screen grab from video shot from the JetBlue cockpit captures the moment that the Learjet operated by charter service Hop-A-Jet crossed the runway just in front of the JetBlue plane.Pilots of the JetBlue Embraer jet estimated they were about 30 feet (9 meters) off the ground when they saw a plane cross in front of them — the captain said he couldn’t estimate how close they were to the smaller plane, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The JetBlue pilots were able to pull up and circle around and land safely. The captain of the Hop-A-Jet said he heard air traffic controllers tell him to line up and wait before taking off — and even repeated the order back to the controller — “but in his mind, they...

Man survives being stabbed through the head with a flagpole, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A man is expected to survive being stabbed through the head with a flagpole at a fast-food restaurant in Oklahoma, police said Thursday. The stabbing occurred Wednesday evening at a Sonic in Tulsa and ended with the arrest of Clinton Collins, who was charged with felony maiming, the Tulsa Police Department said in statement. The police department statement did identify the victim or provide an age for Collins. “The pole entered the victim’s head beneath his jaw and exited the other side of his head near his right temple area,” police said. “The American Flag was still attached the pole at the time.” Firefighters with the Tulsa Fire Department had to cut part of the flagpole in order to fit the victim into an ambulance, police said. “Miraculously, we’re told the victim will survive his injuries, but will likely lose an eye,” police said. Witnesses told investigators that they saw Collins charge at the victim and stab him with the flagpole, according to the police ...

Mexican marines find 110 pounds of dynamite in drug cartel lab

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

Mexican marines found 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of dynamite hidden in a methamphetamine laboratory run by a drug cartel, the navy said Thursday.The navy said the explosives may have been intended for use in “mines and explosive artifacts” of the kind that cartels have been increasingly using to attack law enforcement personnel in Mexico.“It could be used to manufacture bombs, as well as mines and other explosive artifacts that would be capable of damaging highly armored vehicles,” the Navy Depaertment said in a statement.Other explosives were also found at the site, a cave-like structure in the northern state of Sinaloa. Sinaloa is the headquarters of the drug cartel of the same name. Marines also found three other drug labs holding almost one ton (8,620 kilograms) of “nearly finished” meth in the raids that took place starting Monday. In July, another drug cartel set off a coordinated series of seven roadway bombs in western Mexico that killed four police officers and two civilians...

EV rebates suggest uptake in battery-powered cars soared in spring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

OTTAWA — The number of rebates issued for electric vehicles soared in the spring, sparking hope that sales of battery-powered cars and trucks might finally be on track to meet national targets set by Ottawa.The federal rebates are intended to drive EV sales by bringing the cost of electric vehicles closer to the price of similar gas-powered models. They are worth up to $5,000 off the price of the majority of plug-in cars, trucks, SUVs and vans on the market.A total of 17,518 rebates were issued in the first quarter, or about 5,800 per month. On average about 4,200 rebates were issued each month since the program launched in May 2019.But in April, May and June, over 30,000 rebates were delivered, or more than 10,000 each month.“I mean, it’s a huge jump,” said Trevor Melanson, spokesman for the Clean Energy Canada research program at Simon Fraser University.The uptake in rebates in the second quarter counters concerns about a slowdown in sales after a dip in new batt...

Babies should get new drug that prevents RSV, CDC says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

Infants should get a new drug to protect them against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year, U.S. health officials said Thursday.An infection with RSV is a coldlike nuisance for most healthy people, but it can be life-threatening for the very young and the elderly. There are no vaccines for babies yet so the new drug, a lab-made antibody that helps the immune system fight off the virus, is expected to fill a critical need.The drug, developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi, is expected to be ready in the fall before the RSV season, typically November through March. In the U.S., about 58,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year and several hundred die.A panel of outside advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the one-time shot for infants born just before or during the RSV season and for those less than 8 months old before the season starts. They also recommended a dose for some 8...

California high court says county can’t enforce oil well ban as state debates future of fossil fuels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:42 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Monterey County cannot enforce a voter-approved ban on new oil and gas wells, a decision that comes amid an ongoing battle over how the state should address the health and climate impacts of fossil fuel extraction.The ruling comes a day after environmental advocates announced a plan to try to enshrine a state law banning new gas and oil wells near homes, schools and hospitals as the oil industry vies for voters to overturn it. Voters could face dueling measures on the November 2024 ballot.The court’s decision dealt a blow to local advocates, who have been fighting for years to change the practices of the oil industry. Voters in the county first approved the ban in 2016, shortly after which Chevron sued. The state Supreme Court said the state, not the county, has the authority to regulate certain methods of oil production that would have been banned by the measure.Laura Solorio, president of Protect Mont...