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Federal jury acquits Louisiana trooper caught on camera pummeling Black motorist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

A federal jury in Louisiana on Wednesday acquitted a white state trooper charged with violating the civil rights of a Black motorist despite body-camera footage that showed the officer pummeling the man 18 times with a flashlight. The case of Jacob Brown was the first to emerge from a series of FBI investigations into troopers’ beatings of Black men during traffic stops in Louisiana and underscored the challenges prosecutors face convicting law enforcement officials accused of using excessive force. After a three-day trial in Monroe, jurors found Brown not guilty of depriving Aaron Bowman of his civil rights during a 2019 beating that left Bowman with a broken jaw, broken ribs and a gash to his head. Brown, 33, who defended the blows to investigators as “ pain compliance,” would have faced up to a decade in federal prison if convicted. Brown’s defense attorney, Scott Wolleson, told The Associated Press he was grateful for the verdict. “The men and women of the jury recognized ...

83 attendees at the World Scout Jamboree treated for heat-related illnesses in South Korea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — At least 83 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the World Scout Jamboree being held in South Korea, which is having one of its hottest summers in years.The Ministry of Interior and Safety described the illnesses as “simple exhaustion” caused by overheating and said the ill participants were treated at a hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear how many were children and their ages.The illnesses occurred during Wednesday night’s opening ceremony of the Jamboree, which brought more than 40,000 scouts to a campsite built on land reclaimed from the sea in the southwestern town of Buan. The temperature there reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.The Jamboree’s organizing committee said the events will proceed as planned and was expected to announce safety measures to protect participants in the heat.There had been concerns about holding the Jamboree in a vast, treeless area lacking refuge from the heat. South Korea this...

Body seen along floating barrier Texas installed in the Rio Grande, Mexico says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government reported for the first time Wednesday that a body was spotted along the floating barrier that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott installed recently in the Rio Grande river, across from Eagle Pass, Texas. Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department said authorities were trying to recover the body, and did not know the person’s nationality or the cause of death.Many had warned about the danger of the barrier, because it is designed to make it more difficult for migrants to climb over or swim under it.The department said Mexico had warned about the risks posed by the bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys on the Rio Grande. It also claimed the barrier violates treaties regarding the use of the river, and violates Mexico’s sovereignty.“We made clear our concern about the impact on migrants’ safety and human rights that these state policies would have,” the department said in a statement.The barrier was installed in July, and stretches roughly ...

$50K reward offered for information on USPS letter carrier robbery in Berwyn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

BERWYN, Ill. -- USPS is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the artist and conviction to an armed robbery of a letter carrier in Berwyn Wednesday morning.According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a letter carrier was robbed on the 1400 block of Home Avenue in Berwyn around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday. 1 dead, 3 injured in South Side shooting The suspect vehicle is a stolen silver TOyota Highlander bearing Illinois license plate number CS86136.One suspect was described as a Black male, in his early 20s, around 6-feet tall, thin build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, white shoes, and a white surgical face mask.Another suspect and driver was described as a Black male wearing a dark colored hooded shirt.Suspects are considered to be armed and dangerous.Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to contact USPS at 877-876-2455. Say "Law Enforcement" and reference case number 4089614.

U.S. veterans sue Defense, Veterans Affairs departments to get access to infertility treatments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Defense Department and the Department of Veteran Affairs are making it difficult, and sometimes impossible for veterans to get infertility treatments, according to lawsuits filed Wednesday in federal courts in New York and Boston.The lawsuits seek to hold the United States accountable for creating obstacles to health care access for a population that advocates say has a higher rate of infertility than the population at large.Both suits attempt to obtain in vitro fertilization coverage for military service members and veterans who don’t fit the Veterans Affairs definition of infertility, which is limited to married, heterosexual couples.In a release, West Point graduate and Army veteran Renée Mihail said she has seen many friends and colleagues struggle with fertility after serving in the military."This is not just a coincidence; Our service has seriously impacted our ability to build families,” said Mihail, a law student intern with the Yale Veterans Legal S...

Man convicted of killing, dismembering St. Paul man whose remains were dumped in Lake Superior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — For eight days, the family of Ricky Balsimo Jr. gathered at the St. Louis County Courthouse and tried to remain stone-faced as they listened to defense attorneys argue that the St. Paul man was to blame for his own shooting death.On Wednesday, when a jury rejected Jacob Colt Johnson’s self-defense claim, the Balsimo family could finally let the emotions take over — openly shedding tears for the loss of their loved one while sharing exuberant hugs following a long-awaited verdict.“We’ve been working for two years to find justice,” sister Raquel Turner said in the hallway outside the courtroom. ”We finally got some type of resolution. It’ll never bring Ricky back, but at least in the eyes of the law, we got justice. We got confirmation that Ricky didn’t deserve this.”A 12-member jury took about three hours to find Johnson, 37, of Superior, Wis., guilty of both intentional and unintentional second-degree murder in the June 20, 2021, killing. While the crime occurred in ...

Joe Ryan bitten by the longball — again — in Twins’ 7-3 loss to Cardinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

ST. LOUIS — The home runs, Joe Ryan said after his last start, were “not really concerning.”“You throw a lot of strikes and guys are going to swing and stuff happens,” Ryan said before professing that he thought he would be fine on that front down the stretch.That was after a game in which he had given up two blasts. This time around, that number climbed to four, and yes, the home runs were concerning for the Twins. The Cardinals clobbered Ryan on Wednesday, forcing him out of the game after just four innings in a 7-3 win at Busch Stadium.Ryan gave up all seven of those runs. Four came during a three-home run second inning and another three came on Alec Burleson’s three-run blast in the third inning.The Twins starter, who threw a complete-game shutout on June 22 against the Boston Red Sox, has now given up 31 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings since. He’s given up 17 home runs in those last eight starts and has an 8.63 earned-run average in that time. Wednesday marked another short start...

COVID cases increasing in New York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -New York's Department of Health reports COVID-19 cases are growing and hospitalization rates are increasing as well. Officials are encouraging New Yorkers to be cautious during this time.According to the Department of Health, COVID hospital admissions increased 22% as of August 2. They say the numbers add up to more than 100 admissions per day, lower than the height of the pandemic, but higher than the week before.As a pediatrician, Dr. James Saperstone has served the Guilderland area before, during, and after the pandemic. Even with the main outbreak over, Saperstone says covid is making a seasonal comeback. Lark Street Revitalization Project to start in Albany “We should be okay, but we still have to worry about people my age, over 70, and the very young and the people with underlying health conditions. We still haven’t got our hands around it. We saw a surge last summer, but here is a different ball game," stated Saperstone.Reported cases are up 55%, aver...

Seniors feel 'trapped' in St. Louis apartment building because of broken elevators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Stranded and desperate for help, some senior citizens are stuck in a St. Louis apartment building because of broken elevators.William Darty is unable to leave the seventh floor of his apartment building because the elevators are not working."I walk with a cane. My right side is paralyzed," he said. "The only way for me to get down is the elevator and I'm disabled."Darty is unable to go down the steps and security at Roosevelt Towne Apartments, located on Euclid near Delmar, told the FOX Files crew to leave the property.Darty still wanted to share what was happening inside the apartment building and went to the stairwell windows to show St. Louis the nightmare scenario he's living in.William Darty invited FOX 2 into his seventh-floor apartment for an interview, but property management told the TV crew to leave. Darty wanted St. Louis to see him though, so he stood in front of the stairwell windows for a phone interview."I go to rehab to exercise three days a week; I can't...

Kiszla: Why was $87 million contract for new Broncos offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey money well spent?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:35 GMT

Seven long years of Broncos misery has been defined by too many knuckleheads and not enough winners.Good news: While $87.5 million is a heap of dough for a 28-year-old offensive tackle who’s never been to the Pro Bowl, bringing Mike McGlinchey to Denver was money well spent.It was an investment in something beyond keeping quarterback Russell Wilson clean in the pocket. McGlinchey, who has two trips to the Super Bowl on his NFL resume, can teach the Broncos about the mysteries of a winning culture.What’s the definition?“You can’t directly define it, but you can certainly feel it,” McGlinchey said Wednesday, after the conclusion of a morning practice at training camp“It’s an attitude. It’s a mindset. It’s the way you come into work every single day. It’s the way you prepare. It’s the way you respond to adversity. It’s the way you lift your teammates up. It’s all those things, all mixed into one. If you do that at a high level and the best you can every single day, that to me is ...