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Jurors begin deliberating in the trial of the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lawyer for the man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband told a federal jury Wednesday that David DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with her official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.David DePape, 43, is charged with attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in the Oct. 28, 2022, attack against Paul Pelosi. During her rebuttal, prosecutor Helen Gilbert said the defense had made a false distinction between Nancy Pelosi’s politics and official duties and that DePape didn’t differentiate between the two. DePape pleaded not guilty, but during testimony on Tuesday admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer while trying to carry out a plan to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage. Federal public defender Angela Chuang told the jury during her closing statement ...

Carbon price carve-out for heating oil muddied waters in Senate on other bill: Simons

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

OTTAWA — A Conservative private member’s bill to exempt more fuel used by farmers from the carbon price is stirring up intense lobbying efforts in the Senate, and leaving the Liberals on the verge of being forced to carve up their signature climate policy even more.Alberta Sen. Paula Simons said that the effort to convince senators of how to vote on this bill is extreme from both sides of the debate.She said she’s concerned that rhetoric is outpacing reality in every direction.“I’ve never been lobbied like this on private member’s bill,” Simons said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “This bill has become symbolic and it’s being used as a wedge issue.”Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has already made eliminating the carbon price the centrepiece of his political messaging ahead of the next federal election, has launched a full-on campaign to get the bill passed. That includes new ads launched on Wednesday.The premie...

SpaceX will try again to launch its mega rocket into orbit after first attempt ended in an explosion

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX is aiming for another test flight of its mega rocket on Friday after getting final approval from federal regulators. The first launch of Starship ended in an explosion minutes after lifting off from South Texas in April. The Federal Aviation Administration issued its license Wednesday, noting that SpaceX has met safety, environmental and other requirements to launch again. Elon Musk’s rocket company said it was targeting Friday morning.After the self-destruct system blew up the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX made dozens of improvements to the nearly 400-foot (121-meter) rocket and to the launch pad, which ended up with a large crater beneath it.SpaceX has a $3 billion NASA contract to land astronauts on the lunar surface as early as 2025, using the spacecraft.A month ago, the FAA completed its safety review of the upcoming Starship launch. It needed more time to wrap up its environmental review. No one was injured in the first attemp...

Haitian gang leader added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for kidnapping and killing Americans

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — The FBI added a Haitian gang leader to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Wednesday for the kidnapping and slaying of American missionaries in that country, but conceded capturing him will be a difficult task in the often lawless nation. In conjunction with the announcement, the U.S. State Department said it will pay up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest of Vitel’Homme Innocent, who is known by his first name only. He has already been indicted in the United States for the armed kidnapping of 16 Christian missionaries in 2021 and the slaying of missionary Marie Franklin and kidnapping of her husband, Jean, in 2022. Most of the first group from Christian Aid Ministries, which included five children, escaped after 61 days in captivity and the others were released. Jean Franklin was released after three weeks when his family paid a ransom. The FBI says Vitel’Homme leads the Kraze Bayre gang and worked in concert with the 400 Mawozo ga...

Lawyers insist Nikola founder shouldn’t face prison time for fraud – unlike Elizabeth Holmes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for the founder of truckmaker Nikola Corp. say he should not face incarceration because his fraud conviction is nothing like the fraud that landed Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in prison. The lawyers told a Manhattan federal court judge in a filing late Tuesday that Trevor Milton never acted in a “greedy or mean-spirted way” as he built a pioneering company looking to take the battery- and hydrogen-electric trucking world to new heights.“There is not a shred of evidence from trial or from Trevor’s personal life that he was ever motivated by spite, nastiness, ill will, or cruelty,” they wrote.Milton, 41, was convicted last year of fraud for duping investors with exaggerated claims about his company’s production of zero-emission trucks.Holmes, 39, is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in the blood-testing company Theranos.Milton is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 28. Court officials have calculated federal sentencing guidelines to recommend...

Dashcam footage captures thief stealing SUV in Oakville

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

The Halton Regional Police Service released dashcam footage in hopes of identifying a man who allegedly stole an SUV from a home driveway in Oakville.Investigators said homeowners reported that their Lexus SUV was stolen on November 14, 2023, from outside their residence located in the Ninth Line and Dundas Street East area.Halton police released dashcam footage from a stolen vehicle in Oakville. Police obtained dashcam footage from the Lexus SUV after the thief ditched the stolen vehicle not far from the initial scene. The video briefly shows the male suspect authorities are hoping to identify. No injuries were reported.

NYC carriage driver shown in video flogging horse is charged with animal cruelty

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A carriage horse driver was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Wednesday, more than a year after his frail, ill horse collapsed on the streets of Manhattan, prosecutors announced.Ian McKeever, 54, was arraigned on a charge of overdriving, torturing and injuring an animal or failure to provide proper sustenance for his treatment of the horse, Ryder, on Aug. 10, 2022, when it collapsed during the evening rush hour and lay on the street.Video published by the New York Post showed McKeever pulling on Ryder’s reins and flogging the horse with a whip.According to the criminal complaint, McKeever had been working Ryder since 9 a.m. when the horse collapsed in 84-degree (29-degree Celsius) weather.Once Ryder was down, McKeever didn’t give the horse any water, prosecutors said.A police officer removed Ryder’s harness and put ice and cold water on the horse for 45 minutes until he was able to stand up, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news rele...

DEA Chicago adds suspected cocaine trafficker to Most Wanted List

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A cocaine-trafficking suspect with ties to Chicago is now on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Most Wanted List.  Oswaldo Espinosa is accused of shipping thousands of pounds of cocaine to Chicago and other US cities.  The Mexican national and 14 others were indicted in July. Prosecutors say Espinosa and his operatives are connected to more than 1,200 pounds of cocaine seized between March 2021 and March 2022.  Federal investigators also traced him to a jet packed full of cocaine seized in Gary in 2021. Espinosa faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute, and money laundering.Anyone with information on Espinosa can report tips at https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/ or call 911.

Suburban PD's first therapy dog warming hearts wherever he's needed

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. — A 4-year-old labradoodle recently became Buffalo Grove’s police department’s first therapy dog.And within just a few weeks of his arrival, Grady has become top dog."Our other police dog is there to get the bad guys. Grady is there for the good guys," Buffalo Grove Deputy Police Chief Brian Spolar said. More from Erin: Chicago’s Hare BnB helping rabbits find homes Grady has been trained to bring comfort and a smile to those in need. As if he knows, when he dons the vest it's time to put out the 'feel good'. When he isn't making the rounds at the station, he’s heading off to school visits, library read alongs and pretty much any place in need of a comfort and wagging tail.It is all in a day's work, for a dog hired to bring smiles.

Mother of boy who shot Virginia teacher sentenced to 21 months in prison

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:46:25 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Deja Taylor, the Virginia mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher in January, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a firearm. Taylor appeared in a U.S. District Court on Wednesday to receive her sentence, the first measure of accountability for January’s shooting. She pleaded guilty in June to federal charges of using drugs while having a gun and lying about her drug use when purchasing the weapon. On January 6, Taylor's 6-year-old son shot his teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, using his mother's gun.Police say the boy fired one shot at Zwerner in her first-grade classroom. The bullet went through her hand and into her chest. She is still recovering from her injuries. Former Richneck Elementary School principal not aware of student bringing gun to school, says lawyer Court documents show police found marijuana in Taylor's home after the shooting. Federal prosecu...