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Man convicted in death of woman whose body was found in duffel bag along rural road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — A man has been found guilty in the death of a woman whose remains were found inside a duffel bag along a rural northwest Missouri road almost two weeks after she was killed at a Kansas City hotel.Marcus Brooks was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Ariel Starcher, a mother of two from Independence, The St. Joseph News-Press reports. A Missouri Transportation Department worker found the bag with Starcher’s body inside it in February 2020 around 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Kansas City. She had died of suffocation, and also suffered a broken neck. Key testimony against him came from Taylor Stoughton, who pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder, as Brooks’ accomplice. She and Brooks were arrested a year after the killing. At the time, Starcher’s grandfather, Jim Starcher, told WDAF-TV that his granddaughter knew Brooks and sometimes called him for rides. Her friends had made the family nervous, he told The Ka...

Former RCMP official’s rationale for disclosing secrets can’t be believed: Crown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

OTTAWA — A Crown prosecutor says a former RCMP official’s excuse for leaking secret information is flawed and should not be believed.In closing arguments today, federal lawyer Judy Kliewer told a jury in Ontario Superior Court that Cameron Jay Ortis was not acting for the benefit of the RCMP when he disclosed classified information to investigative targets.Ortis, 51, has testified that he offered secret material to individuals of interest in a bid to get them to use an online encryption service set up by an allied intelligence agency to spy on adversaries.He has pleaded not guilty to violating the Security of Information Act by revealing secrets to three individuals in 2015 and trying to do so in a fourth instance, as well as breach of trust and a computer-related offence. The Crown argues Ortis lacked authority to disclose classified material and that he was not doing so as part of some sort of undercover operation.Kliewer said today the jury should be satisfied that Ortis co...

The FDA is screening US cinnamon imports after more kids are sickened by lead-tainted applesauce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is screening imports of cinnamon from multiple countries for toxic lead contamination after growing reports of children who were sickened after eating pouches of applesauce and apple puree. Cinnamon from a manufacturer in Ecuador is the “likely source” of high levels of lead found in recalled pouches of applesauce puree linked to illnesses in at least 34 children in 22 states, the FDA said Friday. But the agency noted there have not been other reports of illness or elevated blood lead levels tied to the spice that’s popular in holiday baking. The agency has not yet been able to collect and directly test samples of the cinnamon in the product. Import records show that WanaBana LLC of Coral Gables, Florida, received shipments of cinnamon apple fruit puree from Austrofood, a manufacturer in Ecuador.One pouch of recalled WanaBana apple cinnamon puree collected from a Dollar Tree store was found to have lead levels more than 200 times higher th...

Lawsuit accuses Concordia, student union of failing to address antisemitism on campus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

MONTREAL — A proposed class-action lawsuit accuses Concordia University in Montreal and its student union of failing to meaningfully address antisemitism on campus.The lawsuit application seeks $15 million in damages for members of the proposed class, which includes Jewish students, faculty and staff currently at the school or who attended or worked there in the last three years.Two Concordia students and one professor are leading the application, filed in Quebec Superior Court Thursday, and requesting anonymity in legal proceedings because they fear retaliation.Examples of antisemitism on campus they cite in the lawsuit include an altercation last week between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students that led to one arrest.The application says Concordia failed to investigate incidents of antisemitism and didn’t offer support to Jewish students targeted by those hateful acts, among other accusations.Concordia says it does not comment on pending legal proceedings and the Concord...

Las Vegas high schoolers facing murder charges in their classmate’s death due in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four Las Vegas high school students who are facing murder charges in the fatal beating of their classmate are due in court Friday for their first appearances in the adult court system.The students each face one count of murder but have not been formally charged, court records show. The Associated Press is not naming them because they are juveniles.Earlier this week, Las Vegas police announced the arrests of eight students, between the ages of 13 and 17, in connection with the Nov. 1 brawl that left 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. dead.Authorities have said students at Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas had agreed to meet after school let out that day in an alleyway around the corner from campus to fight over a pair of wireless headphones and a vape pen.The fight was captured on cellphone video and widely shared across social media. Las Vegas police said they are still working to identify and locate two more students seen in the footage taking part in the beating...

NTSB investigating CTA crash that injured 38

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

CHICAGO — A federal investigation is underway after a CTA train crash on the city's North Side left 38 people injured.According to police, a Yellow Line train was traveling south around 10:35 a.m. near the 7500 block of North Paulina Street when it collided with a rail-mounted snow-removal equipment in the Howard Rail Yard.The Chicago Fire Department reports 38 people were injured and at least 23 were taken to local hospitals — including four children and seven CTA employees. The train operator was among three people who suffered critical injuries. Fifteen people refused treatment at the scene. Why was the train and the snow plow on the same tracks? That is the question the National Transportation Safety Board will try to answer. A team of NTSB investigators will begin their on-scene investigation Friday and ultimately determine who was at fault. The final report may not come out for several months.Just hours after the crash, a man who was onboard the second train filed th...

Narcan vending machines available to deter overdose deaths in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago is trying to make it easier for people to get a lifesaving drug -- for free.Five vending machines have been strategically placed throughout the city and will carry Narcan, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose.The pilot program was funded by the CDC with a $17 million dollar grant to distribute vending machines across the city. The machines will hold more than just Narcan including hygienic products including socks and undergarments. People will need access to a private pin and can get whatever they want for free. However, the pin to receive Narcan is only '1234' because of the short window to receive medication for someone who has overdosed. The machines are located in five areas, th Garfield Community Center, Uptown and Harold Washington Libraries, the 95th Red line station and the Roseland Community Center. The Chicago Public Health said locations are based on where more overdoses happen."There is a crucial need for these vending machines as our city cont...

US Capitol Christmas tree arrives on the Hill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas on Capitol Hill. The 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree arrived in Washington, D.C. Friday morning.The 63-foot Norway spruce comes from the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. Officials from the National Forest and the Capitol hosted a special ceremony to mark the occasion in front of the west lawn of the Capitol.“Lighting the Capitol Christmas tree has been a holiday tradition since 1964 and it’s the one that we are proud to be part of,” said Jim Kaufman, Director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum.It took about two hours for a team to move the 38-year-old tree from a tractor-trailer onto the Capitol grounds.Over the next few days, the tree will be decorated with thousands of ornaments handcrafted by West Virginians and the Shawnee Tribe.The Shawnee Tribe named this year’s tree “wa’feem’tekwi,” which means “bright tree” in the Shawnee language.A tree lighting ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The t...

LIVE: Crowds, law enforcement honor fallen Austin Police Officer Jorge Pastore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police Officer Jorge “George” Pastore, who died in the line of duty Nov. 11, was honored in Austin Friday morning.Law enforcement began setting up for the funeral procession at 7 a.m., and all vehicles equipped with emergency lights and sirens were invited to join. The procession for Pastore’s final patrol began at 8 a.m. MAP: Funeral procession route for fallen Austin Police officer People were encouraged to line the route of the procession to show support.The Austin Police Department said public visitation would be from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the funeral service was from 11 a.m. to noon at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater, located at 9201 Circuit of the Americas Boulevard.Austin Police officer salutes as Officer Jorge Pastore’s procession moves past Interstate 35 and St. Johns (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez)Procession carries fallen APD Officer Jorge Pastore along his final patrol through Austin (KXAN photo)Crowds gather to show support during Office...

House Republicans move to kill education savings accounts in school finance bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:16 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — As a tense Texas House prepares to debate a massive $36 billion school finance plan on Friday morning, rural House Republicans have filed an amendment to strip the controversial provision that would establish education savings accounts (ESAs).State Rep. John Raney, a College Station Republican and longtime opponent of any school voucher plan, has proposed the amendment to eliminate the entire section of the bill that would establish ESAs. About 15 other Republicans signed onto that amendment, setting it up for success if all Democrats vote for it.Lawmakers expect a relatively short day should that amendment pass. If the House passes a bill without education savings accounts, it would be dead on arrival in the Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he would veto it. RELATED: School voucher bill to reach Texas House floor Friday for potentially pivotal vote Even before the debate began, House Bill 1 attracted criticism from both the strongest liberals and staunches...