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Trump’s comments risk tainting a jury in federal election subversion case, special counsel says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith warned Tuesday that former President Donald Trump’s “daily” statements risk tainting a jury pool in Washington in the criminal case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.Trump’s provocative comments about both Smith’s team and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — who is presiding over the case — have been a central issue since the indictment was filed last month. Prosecutors have repeatedly signaled their concerns about the impact of Trump’s social media posts and Chutkan explicitly warned Trump against inflammatory remarks that could intimidate witnesses or contaminate potential jurors.The posts continued Tuesday both before and after the latest concern flared, with Trump earlier in the day circulating a New York Post story about Chutkan on his Truth Social platform and openly mocking the...

Wet roads and speed factored into car crashing into Denny’s restaurant, Texas police chief says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

ROSENBERG, Texas (AP) — A Texas police chief said Tuesday that wet roads and speed factored into the driver of an SUV plowing into a Denny’s restaurant outside Houston on Labor Day, injuring nearly two dozen people inside. No charges against the driver have been filed but the crash remains under investigation, Rosenberg Police Chief Jonathan White said. Twenty people inside the restaurant were taken to hospitals, but authorities said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening. “Thankfully most have been released and there are no fatalities,” White said. Video of the aftermath showed a red vehicle fully inside the restaurant, with the wall and windows around it demolished. Authorities say the people who were injured were between 12 to 60 years old.The restaurant is near a busy highway that received some rain on Monday morning, when the crash was reported. White said the traffic investigators are considering all factors, including the speed the vehicle was going...

Jury selection begins in contempt case against ex-Trump White House official Peter Navarro

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday in the case against former Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who was charged with contempt of Congress after he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Navarro, a former economics professor, served as a White House staffer under then-President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost. Navarro has said that Trump invoked executive privilege, barring him from cooperating with the House Jan. 6 committee. His trial is expected to last through the end of the week. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has ruled Navarro’s executive privilege argument isn’t a defense against the charges, finding that Navarro hadn’t shown evidence Trump invoked it. Navarro was charged last year with two misdemeanor contempt counts, one for failing to appear for a deposition before the House committee inves...

Albuquerque prosecutors take new approach to combatting retail theft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors in New Mexico’s largest metro area are taking over all cases involving retail theft including small-scale shoplifting, in efforts to enforce new state sanctions against coordinated retail crime.Albuquerque-area District Attorney Sam Bregman and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced the approach to combatting retail crime. Previously, police officers in the Albuquerque area often processed misdemeanor sanctions for shoplifting less than $500 worth of merchandise. Prosecutors say they can then consolidate related cases of retail theft over a 90-day period and possibly bring felony charges.Lujan Grisham signed legislation in April to create a new category of “organized retail crime” and stiffen penalties for organized theft of store merchandize as retailers have highlighted losses from coordinated pilfering.“People should be able to go to the store without being afraid. Business owners are also fed up,” said Bregman, announc...

Some small towns in America are disbanding police forces, citing hiring woes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

GOODHUE, Minn. (AP) — As Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith struggled this summer to fill vacancies in his small department, he warned the town’s City Council that unless pay and benefits improved, finding new officers would never happen.When nothing changed, Smith quit. So did his few remaining officers, leading the Minnesota town of 1,300 residents to shutter its police force in late August.America is in the midst of a police officer shortage that many in law enforcement blame on the twofold morale hit of 2020 — the coronavirus pandemic and criticism of police that boiled over with the murder of George Floyd by a police officer. From Minnesota to Maine, Ohio to Texas, small towns unable to fill jobs are eliminating their police departments and turning over police work to their county sheriff, a neighboring town or state police.The trend isn’t altogether new.At least 521 U.S. towns and cities with populations of 1,000 to 200,000 disbanded policing between 1972 and 2017, ac...

Damaged tail rotor to blame for helicopter crash in 2018 that killed Leicester owner and 4 others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A damaged tail rotor was to blame for a helicopter crash that killed the owner of English soccer club Leicester and four others in 2018, an accident inquiry said Wednesday.The Leonardo AW169 helicopter took off from the center of the field after a Premier League match at Leicester’s King Power Stadium and got to about 430 feet (130 meters) above the ground. Then it spun around and plummeted into a concrete step outside the stadium.Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was Leicester’s owner at the time, along with club employees Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and Swaffer’s partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz, were all killed in the accident.An inquiry by the British government’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that the helicopter’s control system failed because a bearing in the tail rotor broke up due to its balls sliding rather than rolling as a result of a build-up of pressure.The pilot’s pedals became disconnected ...

California lawmakers vote to become first state to ban caste-based discrimination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Tuesday voted to outlaw discrimination based on caste, adding protections for people of South Asian descent who say they have been left out of traditional American safeguards for fairness in employment and housing.The bill — the first of its kind in the U.S. — now heads to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must decide whether to sign it into law.Caste is an ancient, complex system that regulates people’s social status based on their birth. It’s primarily associated with India and Hinduism, but caste-based divisions are also found in other faiths and countries. State and federal laws already ban discrimination based on sex, race and religion. California’s civil rights law goes further by outlawing discrimination based on things like medical conditions, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigration status and ancestry.Tuesday, the state Senate voted 31-5 to approve a bill that would redefine “ancestry” to inclu...

Joliet man sentenced to 15 months for crash that injured Illinois state trooper

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

WILL COUNTY, Ill. — A Joliet man will spend more than a year in prison for a Scott’s Law violation that resulted in a crash that left an Illinois State Police Trooper gravely injured, according to Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow.Glasgow announced Tuesday morning that 23-year-old Angel Casillas was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the crash, which resulted from a Scott’s Law violation, that left Trooper Brian Frank disabled and confined to 24-hour care. ‘Want this for my parents’: Reward increased in 1979 murders of Niles West students as families want answers Scott's Law mandates that drivers approaching stopped emergency vehicles along the roadway must change lanes if able, or greatly reduce their speed if unableAccording to Glasgow, on February 15, 2021, Trooper Frank was working a crash in the left lane against the center median wall along I55, just north of Route 30. At the time the trooper had emergency lights activated and had three emergency flares burning be...

Carnival Cruise passenger reported missing after ship returns to Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

MIAMI (WFLA) — Officials in South Florida said they are searching for a missing man who was last seen on a Carnival Cruise ship.The Miami-Dade Police Department said Kevin McGrath, 26, was reported missing Monday after the Carnival Conquest returned to Port Miami.According to Carnival Cruise Line, McGrath was last seen at about 7 a.m. Monday by his cabinmate, just around the time that guests were supposed to be getting off the ship.After an "extensive search," McGrath was nowhere to be found on the ship, officials said.The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to do a search in the surrounding waters, but he was not found there. Delta flight returns to Atlanta after alleged diarrhea incident "The guest was not detected by surveillance systems, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol during the debarkation process," the Carnival Cruise Line statement said. "Miami Dade police eventually cleared the ship to sail."McGrath is described as being 5' 9" tall and weighing 170 pounds, with brown ...

Why are Nature Valley granola bars so messy?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:09 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — They're the snappy, crunchy and nutty snacks you're likely to see in just about any vending machine anywhere — the green-wrapped Nature Valley granola bars. Maybe they got you through an early morning college class or helped tide you over before lunch at work — whatever the situation, you can bet it probably made a mess.Why is that? Three-legged bear breaks into Florida home, drinks White Claws One needn't look far to find ranting and raving about the bars online. Just a few of the Reddit threads dedicated to them include "These Nature Valley bars need to come with an ashtray" and the slightly more aggrieved "F--- Nature Valley bars."But it turns out the company isn't unaware of how crumbly the bars can be. In fact, General Mills, which owns Nature Valley, sees the mess as a signature feature.The mess created by taking a few bites from one Nature Valley granola bar (Russell Falcon/NEXSTAR)“It’s no secret that enjoying one of our delicious Nature Valley C...