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Turks and Caicos Islands judge delivers mixed verdict in high-profile government corruption case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A nearly decade-long corruption case involving top government officials and attorneys in the Turks and Caicos Islands ended Monday with a mixed verdict for those accused of bribery, money laundering and other charges.The case had sparked outraged across the archipelago, which came under direct rule by the British government in 2009 after it found widespread corruption in the Caribbean British territory.Chief Justice Mabel Agyemang found former Deputy Premier Floyd Hall guilty of bribery and of concealing the proceeds of criminal conduct. He was found not guilty of three counts of conspiracy to defraud.His attorney, Earl Witter, did not respond to messages for comment.Agyemang also found attorney Clayton Greene guilty of concealing the proceeds of criminal conduct. His lawyer did not respond to a message for comment.In addition, Agyemang found former government minister Jeffrey Hall and attorney Melbourne Wilson not guilty of conspiracy to defraud. Hall’s...

Man accused of endangering lives by cutting gas meters in downtown Regina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

Regina police say they’ve arrested and charged a man with endangering lives after he allegedly cut the lines on multiple gas meters — at one point even threatening a fire inspector who investigators say caught him in the act.Police say late Saturday night, a caller in the city’s downtown reported hearing a gas leak and seeing someone running away, and over the next several hours police say there were numerous other reports of damaged and leaking gas meters.At 7:40 a.m. Sunday, police say a Regina Fire Department inspector who was attending to a large fire in a commercial building reported seeing a male cutting a gas line.They say the inspector tried to stop him but he got away when he allegedly threatened the inspector with a bladed weapon.Shortly after, police say another person who tried to stop the suspect from cutting gas lines was also allegedly threatened, and a 39-year-old man was arrested.Police say the investigation into the commercial building fire is ong...

Whistleblowers who reported Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI want court to continue lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of whistleblowers who reported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the FBI said Monday they are not giving up their own legal fight against the Republican after his acquittal on corruption charges at his impeachment trial.Four of Paxton’s former advisers have asked the Texas Supreme Court to resume their whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton after having never received a $3.3 million settlement. The agreement was struck earlier this year but was never approved by Texas lawmakers, who instead went on impeach Paxton over accusations of corruption and bribery. In all, eight of Paxton’s former top aides went to the FBI in 2020 and accused their boss of misusing their office to help a political donor. Most of them testified at his impeachment trial that ended with a jury of mostly Republican senators acquitting Paxton on all charges. “The political trial is over, and it’s time for the case to return to a real court,” said Blake Brickman, one of th...

At least 360 Georgia prison guards have been arrested for contraband since 2018, newspaper finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — At least 360 employees of Georgia’s state prison system have been arrested on accusations of smuggling contraband into prisons since 2018, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, with 25 more employees fired for smuggling allegations but not arrested.The newspaper finds that nearly 8 in 10 of Georgia Department of Corrections employees arrested were women, with nearly half of them 30 years or younger, when ages could be verified.Those figures reflect in part a prison system that struggles to recruit employees, often hiring young women with no law enforcement experience. Despite recent salary increases, correctional officers in Georgia are paid less than those in many other states.Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said he has taken steps to identify corrupt staff since being named to the post in December. “Once we know that they may be compromised, and we get that information, we deal with it and we get them out of there,” he said.Oliver acknowledged that ...

Alabama inmate opposes being ‘test subject’ for new nitrogen execution method

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate would be the test subject for the “experimental” execution method of nitrogen hypoxia, his lawyers argued, as they asked judges to deny the state’s request to carry out his death sentence using the new method.In a Friday court filing, attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith asked the Alabama Supreme Court to reject the state attorney general’s request to set an execution date for Smith using the proposed new execution method. Nitrogen gas is authorized as an execution method in three states but it has never been used to put an inmate to death.Smith’s attorneys argued the state has disclosed little information about how nitrogen executions would work, releasing only a redacted copy of the proposed protocol. “The state seeks to make Mr. Smith the test subject for the first ever attempted execution by an untested and only recently released protocol for executing condemned people by the novel method of nitrogen hypoxia,” Smith’s attorneys wrote...

Connecticut health commissioner fired during COVID settles with state, dismissal now a resignation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

Connecticut’s Department of Public Health has reached a settlement agreement with the agency’s former commissioner, who was fired in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. She had accused Gov. Ned Lamon of discriminating against her, a Black woman, by elevating several white people to lead the crisis response. The agreement, signed on Monday, settles a federal lawsuit filed last year by Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who was ousted on May 12, 2020. While admitting no wrongdoing or violating state or federal law, the state agreed to pay the former commissioner $200,000. The bulk of the money, $160,000, covers “compensatory damages for emotional distress, personal physical injuries, and physical sickness” in connection with her dismissal.The remaining $40,000 will cover her legal fees and costs.The agreement also stipulates the state will pay $1,249 to the Connecticut Department of Labor to resolve an unemployment compensation benefits overpayment Coleman-Mitchell had recei...

Elementary students in Beverly surprised with scooters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

CHICAGO — Dozens of students at Barnard Elementary School in the city's Beverly neighborhood were surprised with brand-new scooters on Monday.The surprise came during a presentation about kindness and giving to others as the school celebrates National Self-Care Month with the help of Buddy's Helpers, a nonprofit that uses the power of sport and teamwork to help people on and off the field.Students from Stagg, Eisenhower, Thornton, Washington, and Brother Rice high schools joined in and presented students from kindergarten through 2nd grade at Barnard Elementary with a cape and a $1 bill before the miniature superheroes made their way to the school's auditorium for the unveiling of the big surprise.High school students from around Chicagoland made the generous donation possible by contributing $2 a piece to help purchase nearly 100 new scooters for the kids.Joe Trost, the Director of Buddy's Helpers, helped put the plan in motion."When you give, you know, not only do you help somebod...

As federal government shutdown looms, Illinois braces for impact

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

With a possible government shutdown now only days away, federal departments have begun planning to wind down nonessential functions.On Monday, Congress returned facing an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.If they’re not successful, various services Americans rely on would grind to a halt.  "We’re all nervous here," said Illinois Rep. Sean Casten. "We’re five days away from this shutdown and we still don’t know whether we have language we can vote on the floor."In a shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including 43,000 in Illinois, would be furloughed or forced to work without pay. This includes active-duty military and federal law enforcement. Here’s how many times the federal government has shut down TSA personnel and air traffic controllers will be on the job, but reduced staffing could cause significant airport delays.Although outbreak response and labs will remain open, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that other public he...

Stage set for clusters of showers, thunderstorms through mid-week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

CHICAGO — A pool of cool, unstable air settling over the comparatively warm, moderately humid air here at ground level sets the stage for clusters of showers and t-storms through mid-week, rains which could produce sporadic downpours and generate some locally heavy rainfalls.Placing cold, unstable air on top of a mass of warm air encourages air near the ground level to become buoyant and want to ascend and cool. Such cooling saturates the air. It's a formula for precipitation formation. Modeling suggests the vertical temp drop argues strongly for embedded t-storms at times—much as has happened this morning in parts of the Chicago area with some dramatic lightning and loud claps of thunder in affected areas.  Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Modeling puts the probability of thunder at 30% overnight but increases it to 70 to 80% at times on Tuesday and Tuesday night. Model rainfall projections suggest TOTAL RAINFALL through Wednesday night could range from ...

How to see the 'ring of fire' eclipse this October, total solar eclipse in April '24

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:26 GMT

(WTAJ) – The United States is set to see two solar eclipses within six months of each other with the first – a "ring of fire" – in October. The annular solar eclipse will happen Saturday, Oct. 14, crossing from Oregon to Texas, with a partial eclipse visible throughout the lower 48 states. Six months later, a total solar eclipse will cross from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024, so don't throw away those special eclipse glasses. NASA predicts large asteroid impact could be in Earth’s future A "ring of fire" eclipse happens when the moon is at its most distant point from Earth, meaning it can't cover the sun like a total eclipse and leaves a bright ring of the sun visible at the peak of the eclipse. This "ring of fire" will only be visible in the narrow path of annularity, a band stretching from Oregon to Texas and into parts of Mexico as well as Central and South America. Those outside of the path in the United States will be able to see a partial solar eclipse in October. Don't fo...