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Judge: Synagogue massacre suspect can face death penalty

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history has lost another bid to get the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.With jury selection underway at the federal trial of Robert Bowers, a judge ruled Tuesday against a defense motion that challenged the government’s pursuit of the death penalty. U.S. District Judge Robert Colville said in his decision that Bowers’ defense team “fails entirely to establish a basis upon which the court could conclude that the government has arbitrarily sought the death penalty in this case.”Bowers, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, is charged with 63 criminal counts in the killings of 11 worshippers on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life synagogue building where three congregations had gathered. The charges include 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.Prosecutors say Bowers made antisemitic comments at th...

Russia claims Ukraine tried to hit Kremlin; Kyiv denies it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. Ukraine denied any involvement, saying Moscow could use it for further escalation of the war.Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.There was no independent verification of the reported attack on the Kremlin, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence in support of the claim. Nor did officials say why it took more than 12 hours to report the incident.Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any involvement. “Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin,” he said. He said the claims would provide a pretext for Russia “to justify massive strikes on Ukraini...

Johnson names former CPD chief Fred Waller interim superintendent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson has named former Chief of Patrol Fred Waller interim police superintendent. Waller is coming out of retirement to take the job — after spending nearly three and a half decades with CPD. He retired in Aug. 2020 and will officially take over on May 15, the same day as Johnson's inauguration.Waller, the former chief of patrol, was passed over the CPD superintendent job that went to Eddie Johnson in 2016.When he retired, Waller had attained the third-highest rank in the Chicago Police Department and sources told WGN's Erik Runge that he is respected within the department and is known as a "cop's cop."“Chief Waller has dedicated his career to serving the people of Chicago at virtually every level of the Chicago Police Department from patrol officer to third in command. He has the vision, experience, and integrity to lead the department through this pivotal time as we build a safer, stronger Chicago,” said Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson.The Community Com...

Olympic medal-winning sprinter Tori Bowie dies at 32

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

Tori Bowie, the sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died. She was 32.Bowie's death was announced Wednesday by her management company and USA Track and Field. No cause of death was given.Growing up in Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie was coaxed into track as a teenager and quickly rose up the ranks as a sprinter and long jumper. She attended Southern Mississippi, where she swept the long jump NCAA championships at the indoor and outdoor events in 2011.Bowie turned in an electric performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She then ran the anchor leg on a 4x100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold. Seattle man dies while climbing Mount Everest A year later, she won the 100 meters at the 2017 world championships in London.Bowie was taken in by her grandmother as an infant after she was left at a foster home. She considered herself a basketball p...

Jenny Craig closing all locations: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – All Jenny Craig locations will imminently shutter, according to internal communications obtained by NBC News. Hourly employees at Jenny Craig weight loss centers were told by email that their last day was Tuesday, NBC reported. Corporate and salaried employees' last day is set for Friday.Nexstar reached out to Jenny Craig for comment on NBC's reporting, but didn't immediately hear back.The company, based in Carlsbad, California, offers meal plans, food delivery and coaching for clients looking to lose weight. The first Jenny Craig weight loss center opened in 1983, the company says. Bed Bath & Beyond liquidation sale has started. Here’s what you need to know By 2019, Jenny Craig had grown to 500 locations and employed about 1,000 people, NBC reported. Reports of impending layoffs for the company have swirled in recent days, as the company warned employees it would be "winding down physical operations.""Like many other companies, we're currently transitioning from ...

Feds: 288 'digital drug lords' busted selling fentanyl online

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (WPIX) -- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Tuesday that nearly 300 people selling fake pills and other fentanyl products on the dark net have been busted."The drug traffickers are confident that operating anonymously on the dark web, they can operate outside the bounds of law," Garland said. "They are wrong."Garland said the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team had been working on various cases since the fall of 2021, ultimately arresting 288 people from Boca Raton, Florida, to Cerritos, California, in a federal operation called Operation SpecTor. In addition, eight foreign nations cooperated with the U.S. government to break up internet deals for drugs, some of the narcotics bought with cryptocurrency."The clear and direct message is that the FBI will never rest until we shine a light on the digital drug lords," Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate said at the press conference.Abbate noted his agency used undercover agents and acted o...

Tucker Carlson text about 'how white men fight' alarmed Fox leaders before ouster: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

(The Hill) – A text message sent by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson about a video he saw of the violence that broke out during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol alarmed the network's leaders just days before it ousted him from the cable news giant, according to a new report. In the message, sent to one of the top-rated host's producers, Carlson wrote he was "watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living shit out of him," according to The New York Times. "It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight," Carlson said. "Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it." Tucker Carlson called woman ‘yummy,’ leaked video shows In its report, the Times said it had learned the contents of Carlson's message...

Robin's list of biggest Mother's & Father's Day gift mistakes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Everyone wants to make their parents happy on the day that's designated to celebrate them. That's why people often go out of their way to find the perfect gift for Mother's Day and Father's Day over the next month and a half.But sometimes your present to them might not be what they're looking for - and that inspired this edition of "The List" on WGN Morning News on Wednesday morning.Robin Baumgarten gave a few examples of gifts on Mother's and Father's Day that missed the mark, using her own experiences to make the choices.You can watch what Robin chose for this edition of "The List" in the video above.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Florida woman arrested for allegedly throwing drink at US Rep. Matt Gaetz

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida woman was arrested for battery on an elected official after allegedly throwing a drink at Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who was at an event with family, according to an arrest report obtained by Nexstar's WFLA.In the report, authorities say 41-year-old Selena Chambers, of Tallahassee, was at the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival Saturday evening when she recognized Gaetz chatting with event attendants.Gaetz, who recalled the incident to authorities, claimed he watched as Chambers and another woman walked past him and his family cursing at them. Shortly after, Chambers threw her drink at Gaetz before she "walked away yelling and flipping him off," according to the report.A defense attorney for Chambers, meanwhile, is claiming his own internal investigation has turned up evidence that Gaetz and his group were engaged in a verbal altercation with the women, and that Gaetz was "both an aggressor and agitator," according to an em...

18 year old arrested, charged with murder in fentanyl-related death of Lehman High student

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:11 GMT

Editor's note: The above video show's today's top morning headlines for May 3, 2023. HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- An 18 year old was arrested and faces drug-related charges and a murder charge in connection to the overdose death of a 15 year old from Kyle.On April 11, the Hays County Sheriff's Office and Hays County EMS responded to a call about a 15 year old who was found unresponsive in the 100 block of Cotton Gin Road in Kyle. EMS performed life-saving measures, but the 15 year old died. They were a student at Lehman High School. The HSCO Criminal Investigation Division and the Special Services Division (SSD) started an investigation. The preliminary investigation found the victim’s death was caused by an accidental drug overdose, specifically from fentanyl. During the criminal investigation, SSD identified a suspect believed to have sold the fentanyl to the victim.Jaquell Desean Ray, 18, was arrested April 11 and charged with delivery of a controlled substance or marijuana to a ...