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Alex Murdaugh doesn’t want the judge from his murder trial deciding if he gets a new day in court

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh are asking South Carolina’s highest court to prevent the judge who presided over his murder trial from playing a role in the next phase of Murdaugh’s legal odyssey.Lawyers for the disbarred attorney want to block Judge Clifton Newman from hearing Murdaugh’s request for a new trial. They also want the state Supreme Court to remove Newman from an upcoming case prosecuting Murdaugh over a string of financial crimes that prosecutors say he committed as his life spiraled out of control in the years before he killed his wife and son.Wednesday’s request was part of Murdaugh’s appeal of the guilty verdicts and life sentence from his trial last spring.His lawyers said elected Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill allegedly tampered with the murder trial jury by asking jurors their opinions on his guilt or innocence before the trial was over, suggesting to them she thought he was guilty an...

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has shaken the Timor region of Indonesia

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck the Timor region in Indonesia on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.It had a depth of 36.1 kilometers and its epicenter was located 21 kilometers (13 miles) north-northeast of Kupang, Indonesia.Indonesia is a seismically active archipelago of 270 million people that is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.The Associated Press

A stabbing attack that killed 1 woman and wounded 2 men appears to be random, California police say

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

IONE, Calif. (AP) — A woman was killed and two other people wounded in an apparently random stabbing rampage in a Sierra Nevada foothills community allegedly carried out by a man who was on parole for attempted murder, authorities said.The stabbings occurred Monday at three locations in a neighborhood in the small city of Ione, police Chief John Alfred told reporters Tuesday. Ione is in the foothills of Amador County southeast of Sacramento. All the victims had multiple stab wounds and a knife was recovered, the chief said. There did not appear to be any connection between the victims, and the violence appeared to be random, he said. A 34-year-old man was arrested on a street where two of the attacks occurred. “He’s being held on no bail right now,” Alfred said.It wasn’t immediately clear whether criminal charges had been filed against the suspect or whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. An email to the county district attorney’s office seeking that i...

Biden and the first lady will travel to Maine to mourn with the community after the mass shooting

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Maine later this week to mourn with the community of Lewiston after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history, the White House said Wednesday. Thirteen people were injured in the Oct. 25 shootings at a bar and a bowling alley. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will go Friday to pay their respects to the victims, meet with first responders and others and will “grieve with families and community members,” the White House said in a statement. The alleged gunman, Robert Card, 40, was found dead of an apparent suicide after a dayslong manhunt that led officials to cancel school and order residents to stay indoors.Investigators have yet to establish a motive but have increasingly focused on the mental health of Card, who was a firearms instructor. Authorities said this week that Card’s family had brought their concerns about his deteriorating mental health to the local sheriff five months before the deadl...

Brazil to militarize key airports, ports and international borders in crackdown on organized crime

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he is sending the armed forces to boost security at some of the country’s most important airports, ports and international borders as part of a renewed effort to tackle organized crime in Latin America’s largest nation.The decision comes days after members of a criminal gang set fire to dozens of buses in Rio de Janeiro, apparently in retaliation for the police slaying their leader’s nephew.“We have reached a very serious situation,” Lula said at a press conference in Brasilia after signing the decree. “So we have made the decision to have the federal government participate actively, with all its potential, to help state governments, and Brazil itself, to get rid of organized crime.”Brazil will mobilize 3,600 members of the army, navy and air force to increase patrols and monitor the international airports in Rio and Sao Paulo, as well as two maritime ports in Rio an...

Parkland Corp.’s third-quarter earnings double on strong refinery performance

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

CALGARY — Fuel retailer Parkland Corp. says its third-quarter earnings more than doubled in 2023 thanks to favourable market conditions and the company’s ongoing efforts to optimize its Burnaby refinery. The Calgary-based company reported net earnings of $230 million, or $1.31 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, up from $105 million in the same period of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Parkland earned $231 million, nearly five times its third-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings.The company reported sales and operating revenue of $8.9 billion, down from $9.4 billion in the third quarter of last year.Parkland’s Burnaby refinery delivered adjusted earnings of $188 million, up more than 39 per cent from the prior year’s quarter in part due to record refinery utilization and record co-processing volumes. Parkland says it now expects to exceed its previously announced 2023 adjusted earnings guidance range of $1.8 to $1.85 billion, thanks to favourable refinery margins ...

Toyota recalls nearly 1.9M RAV4s to fix batteries that can move during hard turns and cause a fire

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Toyota said Wednesday it is recalling nearly 1.9 million RAV4 small SUVs in the U.S. to fix a problem with batteries that can move during forceful turns and potentially cause a fire.The recall covers certain RAV4s from the 2013 through 2018 model years. Toyota said in a statement that some replacement 12-volt batteries used in the SUVs have smaller top dimensions than others. If the hold-down clamp is not tightened properly, the battery could move, allowing the positive terminal to contact the clamp and short circuit, the company said.Toyota said it is still preparing a fix. When the remedy is ready, dealers will replace the hold-down clamp, battery tray and positive terminal cover with improved ones. The company said it will notify owners by late December.Toyota not say in its statement whether the problem has caused any fires or injuries. A message was left seeking comment from a company spokesman.Owners can check to see if their RAV4s are involved by going to www.n...

Connecticut man gets 90 years in prison for stray-bullet killing of Olympian’s mom

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man was sentenced Wednesday to 90 years in prison for his role in the stray-bullet killing of the mother of a two-time Olympian rifle shooter from Puerto Rico.Judge Brian Preleski handed down the sentence to Franklin Robinson, 40, one of three men charged in the death of Mabel Martinez Antongiorgi, 56. The woman was sewing in her home in Waterbury, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Hartford, when a bullet flew through a wall and hit her in the head on April 9, 2022.Martinez Antongiorgi’s daughter, Yarimar Mercado Martinez, competed for the family’s native Puerto Rico at the 2016 and pandemic-delayed 2020 Games. The athlete was in Brazil for another competition when her mother was killed.A jury convicted Robinson of murder and other charges in July. The two other men are awaiting trial.Donald Meehan, Robinson’s public defender, decried the sentence as a “severe trial tax,” levied on his client because he did not accept a plea offe...

Britney Spears’ memoir a million seller after just one week since its release

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Britney Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me” has sold 1.1 million copies in the U.S. alone through its first week.“I poured my heart and soul into my memoir, and I am grateful to my fans and readers around the world for their unwavering support,” Spears said in a statement released Wednesday by Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.The sales figures include pre-orders, print sales, e-books and audiobooks. “The Woman in Me,” released Oct. 24, has been praised by critics as a compelling account of her rise to global fame and her ongoing struggles, notably the conservatorship that for years granted her father control of much of her life. The singer’s highly-anticipated book, for which she did little publicity beyond posts on her Instagram page, was the top seller of last week. But it’s not the year’s fastest seller. Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare,” which came out in January, sold 1.6 million U.S. copies in its first week. The au...

US Marshals releases its first report on shootings by officers

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:59:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marshals have for the first time released data on how many people were shot by their officers or other police working with them.A total of 147 people were shot over the course of three years, from 2019 to 2021, according to the report released by the agency this week. Almost all of those happened as the federal agency tasked with fugitive searches arrested people on warrants, including for crimes like assault and homicide. The total includes shootings that killed people and those that left people injured. It’s a step toward transparency for federal law enforcement, and comes at a time when data about police shootings remains scarce, years into a national reckoning over police brutality and racial injustice. Experts say detailed data is essential to tackling the issue, but comprehensive information for the U.S. is still lacking. U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis ordered the review last year, saying it reflects the seriousness of shots fired ...