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Michigan man faces gun charge after FBI says he made threats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

SEBEWAING, Mich. (AP) — A mentally ill Michigan man accused of making death threats on social media against Democratic politicians and those in the LGBTQ community was charged with illegally possessing guns.Randall Berka II, 30, is accused of posting various written threats on a YouTube channel, the FBI said in a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Flint. According to the complaint, Berka — who lives with his parents in Sebewaing — said “biden deserves to die,” a reference to President Joe Biden, and that he was “more than willing tot kill whitmer,” a reference to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Berka also wrote, “I’ll kill anyone who tries to take my guns,” according to the FBI.He appeared in court Friday to hear the charge and was returned to jail to await a March 15 detention hearing. The federal defender office, which is representing Berka, declined to comment.Berka was involuntarily committed for mental health care in 2012 and declared incapacitated, wh...

Gillis scores 20 as Purdue beats Rutgers in Big Ten tourney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Mason Gillis had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting, and No. 5 Purdue held off Rutgers for a rugged 70-65 victory in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.With Zach Edey drawing his usual attention inside, the top-seeded Boilermakers (27-5) got a big lift from Gillis and reserve guard David Jenkins Jr. Gillis grabbed nine rebounds and Porter had a season-high 12 points.The 7-foot-4 Edey finished with 16 points and 11 boards. The Big Ten Player of the Year averaged 21.9 points and 12.8 rebounds during the regular season. Next up for Purdue is the winner of the second quarterfinal between Ohio State and Michigan State. The Boilermakers are looking for the school’s second Big Ten Tournament title and a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Derek Simpson scored 18 points for Rutgers (19-14), which advanced with a 62-50 win against Michigan on Thursday. Cam Spencer had 13 points, and Clifford Omoruyi finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.The Scarlet Knigh...

Oklahoma State women top West Virginia on Milton’s winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Terryn Milton made a go-ahead shot with 0.1 seconds left and Oklahoma State beat West Virginia 62-61 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.Milton took an inbounds pass with 13.3 second left. Her teammates cleared the right side of the lane and she cut back her defender with a behind-the-back dribble to get a clean shot that hung on the rim before dropping.Milton thought she had the lead with 38.2 seconds remaining on another basket in the lane but an offensive foul was called. West Virginia guard Kyah Watson had a jumper from the free-throw line roll off and Oklahoma gained possession after a tie-up on the rebound.Milton’s winner gave Oklahoma State its first lead since it was 10-9 with 3:15 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma State closed the game on a 15-3 run as West Virginia only made three field goals in the fourth quarter — with just one in the final six minutes.Naomie Alnatas had 16 points and six assists and Taylen...

Husband gets 30 years in prison for wife's murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) -- A 47-year-old Littleton man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for the murder of his wife in 2020, the First Judicial District Attorney's Office announced Friday.Scott Lee Smith II pled guilty to second-degree murder on Feb. 9. He was originally charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in late September of 2021, according to the DA's office. Who murdered 3 people in 1999 and where are their bodies? A nearly yearlong investigation determined Smith killed 46-year-old Kanokwan “Nok” Smith, the release said. He was arrested and charged on Sept. 24, 2021. Smith told police he shot and killed his wife in self-defenseThe Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to Smith's 911 call on Nov. 1, 2020, of him telling dispatch that he just shot his wife in self-defense as she was trying to stab him with a butcher knife, according to the DA's office. Smith was taken into custody the next day but released five days later due to...

Rockies to host 1st all-female broadcast Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Broadcast history will be made Saturday in the Arizona desert.AT&T SportsNet and ROOT Sports will air its first-ever all-female broadcast as the Colorado Rockies play the Seattle Mariners in Cactus League baseball (first pitch at 1:10 p.m.). The broadcast team will include women from across the AT&T SportsNet and ROOT Sports families. Jenny Cavnar will serve as the play-by-play announcer with Angie Mentink in the booth. Jen Mueller and Julia Morales will have coverage on the field. The all-female broadcast will extend behind the camera with women from the AT&T SportsNet production team including game producer Alison Vigil and game director Erica Ferrero. Mikaela Shiffrin ties record for most World Cup wins by any man, woman “I’m just so excited. We’ve been talking about this moment for a couple of years,” Cavnar, who is entering her 11th season covering the Rockies, said. “All of us have been doing these jobs for years and to have the opportunity to do...

Louisiana man, woman arrested in connection with 30-year-old cold case involving infant’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

JEFFERSON PARISH, Louisiana (WDSU) — A Jefferson Parish woman and a River Ridge man have been arrested and accused of first-degree murder in connection with a 30-year-old cold case involving the death of an infant.Inga Carriere was arrested in Jefferson Parish on February 28. She was booked as a fugitive out of Picayune, Mississippi.Andrew Carriere was arrested on March 9 in Galliano.Both were booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.The Louisiana State Police are working with detectives in Mississippi on the investigation.According to Picayune police, at the time of the crime, the baby was found behind Mr. Gatti’s Pizza at 704 Memorial Boulevard.A farmer removed trash bags to feed his animals from the dumpster when he found the baby in one of the trash bags.The baby was wrapped in a towel with other trash items, according to police.When an autopsy was done on the baby, police say it was determined that that she died three weeks premature and lived a few minu...

Why Ursula von der Leyen matters to Biden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

It was former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who captured a conundrum that has long bedeviled U.S.-Europe relations: “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?”Today, it looks like America has settled on an answer: Ursula von der Leyen. The 64-year-old president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm — who meets President Joe Biden Friday at the White House — has become the closest thing to a president the 27-country bloc has got.Biden has struck up a strong relationship with von der Leyen over the past year of conflict in Ukraine, especially. A former German defense minister and mother of seven, she was parachuted into the job of Commission president in 2019 by Germany’s leader at the time, Angela Merkel.In late 2021 when Washington was warning of the looming threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the big European capitals of Paris and Berlin were too distracted to pay much attention.Then von der Leyen stepped in. In November 2021, she met Biden in the White House a...

Longtime Patriots player Devin McCourty retires from football

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

Three-time Super Bowl champion and career New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty has retired from the NFL.Interviewed by his twin brother Jason McCourty, the 35-year-old player posted the announcement to his Instagram account Friday afternoon, saying “BREAKING NEWS…It’s not about the destination, it’s about the JOURNEY.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Devin McCourty (@devinmccourty)Serving as a team captain for much of his career, McCourty spent 13 seasons with the Patriots organization after being drafted out of Rutgers in 2010 as a first round pick.By the end of the 2022 season, he had played in some 205 games, making 740 solo tackles, among other feats.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Burlington-based lab, owner accused of $400K in drug test fraud claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A clinical laboratory and its owner have been accused of submitting over $400,000 in Medicaid claims for unauthorized urine drug tests, the attorney general’s office in Massachusetts said Friday.The residential sobriety tests were medically unnecessary, the office said in a news release. Laboratories may not bill Medicaid for them.The Burlington-based lab and its owner were indicted last month by a statewide grand jury on two counts each of Medicaid false claims, false claims and larceny over $1,200.The lab and owner are scheduled to be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on March 21. It wasn’t immediately known if they had attorneys.The attorney general’s office said last year, one of its Medicaid Fraud Division investigations resulted in charges against several clinical laboratories, their owners, marketing companies, and a doctor in connection with Medicaid fraud, money laundering and kickbacks involving over $2 million in urine drug tests.

University of Rhode Island removes partial Malcolm X quote that sparked protest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:22 GMT

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — The University of Rhode Island has removed a partial Malcolm X quote from the façade of its main library 30 years after members of the school’s Black Student Leadership Group and others protested because they said the shortened quote misrepresented the fuller meaning of the civil rights leader’s message.The inscription on the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons was installed in 1992 and was meant to be a tribute, but instead, led to the takeover of a campus building, the university said in a statement Friday.The inscription read, “My alma mater was books, a good library … I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”The full quote, from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” reads: “I told the Englishman that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read — and that’s a lot of books these days. If I weren’t out here every day battling the white man, I...