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Man accused of killing 4 university students in Idaho loses bid to have indictment tossed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The grand jury indictment of a man charged with killing four University of Idaho students was conducted properly and will stand, a judge has ruled. Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, last year. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. But earlier this year, Kohberger’s team of defense attorneys filed motions asking the judge to throw out the indictment, alleging that the prosecution improperly withheld evidence from grand jurors. Kohberger’s lawyers also said the jurors were biased and that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to justify the indictment. A document detailing the basis for some of the defense claims was sealed, and the judge closed the hearing on the matter to the public. After reviewing transcripts, recordings and o...

More than 2,000 mine workers extend underground protest into second day in South Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — More than 2,000 workers remained underground for a second day Tuesday in a protest over pay and benefits at a platinum mine in South Africa.The mine is owned by Implats, which is one of the world’s biggest platinum miners. The firm has suspended work at the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine near the city of Rustenburg, and it calls the protest illegal.Representatives from the National Union of Mineworkers went underground to meet with the workers but the protest “remains unresolved,” Implats said.There were no immediate details on how much the workers are paid.More than 2,200 workers began the protest, but 167 had returned to the surface by Tuesday night, Implats said. The workers are in two shafts at the mine in North West province, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the capital, Pretoria.South Africa is by far the world’s largest platinum producer.Such protests are not unusual. There were two recent underground protests at a gold mine in the city ...

Orange tabby cat named Taters steals the show in first video sent by laser from deep space

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video transmitted by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light.The 15-second video was beamed to Earth from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, 19 million miles (30 million kilometers) away. It took less than two minutes for the ultra high-definition video to reach Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, sent at the test system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second.The video was loaded into Psyche’s laser communication experiment before the spacecraft blasted off to a rare metal asteroid in October. The mission team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, decided to feature an employee’s 3-year-old playful kitty.The video was streamed to Earth on Dec. 11 and released by NASA this week. Despite the vast distance, the test relayed the video faster than most broadband internet connections here on Earth, said the project’s Ryan Rogalin.NASA wants to impro...

Parents and uncle convicted of murdering Pakistani teen in Italy for refusing an arranged marriage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

MILAN (AP) — A court in northern Italy convicted the parents and an uncle of an 18-year-Pakistani woman for her murder in Italy after she refused her family’s demands to marry a cousin in their homeland.Saman Abbas’ body was dug up in November 2022 in an abandoned farmhouse near the fields where her father worked in northern Italy, a year and a half after she was last seen alive on surveillance video walking near the same fields with per parents. Italian prosecutors argued that she was was killed by her family on May 1, 2021. A few days later, her parents flew from Milan to Pakistan.The parents, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, were sentenced to life in prison, while her uncle, Danish Hasnain, was handed a 14-year prison term by a court in Reggio Emilia. Two cousins were found not guilty and ordered released from jail. Abbas, who was extradited from Pakistan in August, professed his innocence during a tearful statement to the court before deliberations. His wife, Shaheen, was ...

Germany protests to Iran after a court ruling implicates Tehran in a plot to attack a synagogue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany protested to Iran on Tuesday after a court ruling implicated the Islamic republic in a plan to attack a synagogue last year.The Duesseldorf state court convicted a German-Iranian man of attempted arson and agreeing to commit arson and sentenced him to two years and nine months in prison.Judges found that the man threw an incendiary device at a school in the western city of Bochum in November 2022 because the neighboring synagogue appeared too well secured, German news agency dpa reported. The defendant denied planning to attack the synagogue. The school received minor damage.The court found the 36-year-old defendant had been tasked with the attack by a former Hells Angels member who had gone to Iran, and that Iran was behind the latter man, dpa reported.A court statement said the defendant tried in vain to persuade an acquaintance to join him in carrying out the attack, and that he ultimately threw the incendiary device at the school “to simulate carrying out t...

Docs: Man accused of strangling teen girl searched death penalty, how to explain incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

CHICAGO — The man accused of strangling 15-year-old Amarise Parker allegedly searched the death penalty and how to explain the incident, court documents reveal.Parker, who was reported missing, was found dead in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue on the evening of Dec. 12.Parker had a history of running away from home, according to her mother Yahanna Clark.Amarise Parker, 15Two days before the murder, documents reveal Parker escaped from the residence of 24-year-old Joshua Williams while he was in the restroom. Clark and documents state Williams and Parker were in a relationship. She returned to his residence, in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue, the next evening and a neighbor heard arguing that night into the early morning, documents state.Just after 7 p.m. on Dec. 12, Williams called his cousin and a friend indicating Parker was in distress, according to documents. The cousin called 911 and paramedics arrived to the scene.Parker's body was found in Williams' residence...

5 things to know about the new COVID variant of interest, JN.1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — As millions of Americans are preparing to gather for the holidays, health officials are warning of a new COVID-19 variant sweeping the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday it was classifying the COVID variant JN.1 as a variant of interest. Here are 5 things you should know about the new variant of interest. What is JN.1?JN.1 was first detected in August, according to WHO, and is a "descendent lineage" of the subvariant BA.2.86, otherwise known as Pirola. Pirola itself is a descendant of the BA.2 omicron subvariant.In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned BA.2.86 may be better at causing breakthrough infections, meaning that even if you've been vaccinated or had the virus, you could still become infected. These are the safest small towns and cities in every state: report While JN.1 is a descendant of BA.2.86, it's unclear what potential it has to cause breakthrough infections. Where has JN.1 been detected?According to WHO's ...

Senate looks to approve final military promotions following blockade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The U.S. Senate is playing catch up this week on confirmations of top military officials after a Republican recently ended his blockade.U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, (R-AL), held up hundreds of nominations for 10 months to protest the Pentagon policy that offers travel expenses and time off for service members and their dependents seeking legal abortions.However, the policy still stands, and lawmakers, including Tuberville, are now working to give the officers back pay."We're not done yet," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), said on the floor Tuesday.Schumer promised to keep his colleagues in Washington until they confirm the remaining 11 four-star nominees.U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, (D-RI), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the candidates have a combined 390 years of military service."These positions are critical, including commanders of the 7th Fleet in the Middle East and the 5th Fleet in the Indo-Pacific,” Reed said. “Collectively, t...

Chicago paralegal accused of stealing $600K from bankruptcy estate accounts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

CHICAGO — A former paralegal in Chicago is accused of stealing over $600,000 from bankruptcy estate accounts over the course of nine years.Becky Sutton, 67, formerly of Park Forest, pleaded guilty to one federal count of wire fraud on Thursday.Authorities allege Sutton embezzled over $600,000 in funds from 2009 to 2018 while working on bankruptcy matters for the law firm.She admitted in a plea agreement that more than 40 bankruptcy estate accounts and several liquidating trust accounts were affected. Cook County homeowners to receive $30.5M in property tax refunds Sutton, now of Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty on Thursday.

'A lot of improvement': Transportation leaders hope for smoother holiday travel season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - As people begin to hit the skies for holiday travel, the Transportation Department is hoping some key changes will help avoid the chaos many travelers saw last holiday season. With millions of people expected to fly for Christmas and New Year's Eve, the agency is keeping a close eye on airlines. "We can't make guarantees on behalf of the airline industry for how Christmas and New Year's will go but I will say there's been a lot of improvement," Transportation Department Sec. Pete Buttigieg said. After last holiday season's travel meltdown, Sec. Buttigieg says the Transportation Department helped get impacted travelers billions of dollars in compensation. This week they announced a $140 million penalty against Southwest Airlines for their massive disruptions. "We're telling them not to let this happen again," Buttigieg said. "And my sense is that they have learned that the hard way but also the entire industry needs to see this as ...