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Oklahoma’s next lethal injection delayed for 100 days for competency hearing

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The lethal injection of an Oklahoma man scheduled to be executed next month has been paused for 100 days so that a hearing can be held to determine if he’s mentally competent enough to be executed.The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued the stay of execution on Dec. 22 for James Ryder, 61. Ryder was scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Feb. 1 for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son in Pittsburg County after a property dispute.“Having reviewed the evidence, we find the matter should be remanded to the District Court of Pittsburg County for a hearing to determine whether Ryder ‘has raised substantial doubt as to his competency to be executed,’” the appellate court wrote in its order.Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court’s decision.Ryder’s attorneys have argued for years that he is incompetent and that his mental illness has become...

Penguins line up to be counted while tiger cub plays as London zookeepers perform annual census

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A sign directed the animals to line up to be counted and several of the 74 Humboldt penguins did just that, waiting patiently Wednesday to be tallied in the London Zoo’s annual census.Not all the animals were as obedient.Crispin, an endangered Sumatran tiger cub, treated a chalk board like cat nip, gnawing on it playfully in its powerful jaws while being counted with three others.Over two days, about 14,000 animals will be accounted for — everything from alpacas to zebras — as a requirement of the zoo’s license. Information from the count will be shared with zoos around the world to help manage breeding programs of endangered species.The count will note some of the new additions to its menagerie in the past year: a little two-toed sloth and 17 chicks hatched in its birdhouse that included six Socorro doves, which are extinct in the wild. “The keepers have got lots of tricks up their sleeve to be able to count these animals,” zoological operations manager Da...

Nebraska judge allows murder case to proceed against suspect in killing of small-town priest

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska judge agreed Wednesday that the fact that the suspect was found lying on top of a badly wounded priest covered in blood stains last month inside the home where the priest lived next door to his small-town church suggests that Kierre Williams was responsible for the killing.Washington County Judge Edward Matney ruled there was probable cause for the murder case against Williams, 43, to move forward. He will continue being held without bond until he is due back in court early next month to enter a plea to the murder and weapons charges he faces. His attorney has declined to discuss the case.Prosecutors have said there doesn’t appear to be any connection between Williams and the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 10 inside the rectory for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in tiny Fort Calhoun. The one-story home was still wrapped in crime scene tape Wednesday nearly a month after the attack.The priest’s death came just fo...

Argentina arrests three men suspected of belonging to a terror cell

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Authorities in Argentina have arrested three men, including a Syrian national, in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas on suspicion of being part of a terror cell, the government announced Wednesday. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich did not disclose the identity of the men — who were detained over the weekend — but released images of the suspects with their faces blurred. In a statement issued hours before, the ministry said that one of those arrested was a Syrian national who carried passports from Venezuela and Colombia bearing his name. The nationalities of the other two men were not disclosed, but Bullrich said the men previously had used documents of various nationalities.“We do not know if their names are the real ones,” Bullrich told reporters.Bullrich said that authorities had been on high alert as Buenos Aires hosts the Pan-American Maccabi Games, bringing together thousands of Jewish athletes from different countries, and as the Israel-Hamas...

Firefighters battling large fire at the home of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters were battling a blaze at the home of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill on Wednesday afternoon.The house, which is located in Southwest Ranches in South Florida, was shown on local station WSVN 7 News with a large amount of smoke coming out of the roof as firefighters doused it with water.Hill had been at Dolphins practice as Miami prepares for its regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, but he left after being told about the fire.Footage showed Hill arriving at his home just before 3 p.m. EST with his left foot in a walking boot. He could be seen embracing his wife, Keeta Vaccaro, who he married last month. He was also roaming around outside near the home, sometimes with his hand on his chest and on his face, speaking to authorities.The station reported that no one was in the house at the time the fire broke out. It wasn’t immediately clear the source of the fire.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLThe Associa...

Jeffrey Epstein list to be unsealed on rolling basis

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The release of some of the more than 150 names mentioned in court documents from a civil case filed by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims was postponed. A judge has delayed the unsealing of two of the Jane Does until the 22nd, but the rest of the names will be unsealed on a rolling basis starting Wednesday, an executive with the Southern District of New York confirmed to News Nation. The delay for some of the names comes after a judge granted a 30-day extension to a Jane Doe to consider her appeal to remain confidential. Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz: ‘I want everything out’ A judge ruled the names could be unsealed beginning Jan. 1. However, court was closed on that date because of the New Year’s holiday.These documents come from a settled civil lawsuit Virginia Giuffre filed against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.The Miami Herald has been fighting to unseal documents filed as part of the lawsuit since 2018. The legal battle esca...

Firefighters battling large fire at Florida home of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters were battling a blaze at the home of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill on Wednesday afternoon.The house, which is located in Southwest Ranches in South Florida, was shown on local station WSVN 7 News with a large amount of smoke coming out of the roof as firefighters doused it with water.Hill had been at Dolphins practice as Miami prepares for its regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, but he left after being told about the fire.Footage showed Hill arriving at his home just before 3 p.m. EST with his left foot in a walking boot. He could be seen embracing his wife, Keeta Vaccaro, who he married last month. He was also roaming around outside near the home, sometimes with his hand on his chest and on his face, speaking to authorities.The station reported that no one was in the house at the time the fire broke out. It wasn't immediately clear the source of the fire.

Jackson Mahomes' felony charges dismissed; misdemeanor could go to trial

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

OLATHE, Kan. (WDAF) — A Kansas judge has approved a motion by prosecutors to dismiss multiple charges against Jackson Mahomes, brother to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but the 23-year-old could still be heading to trial.On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion in Johnson County to dismiss three felony charges of aggravated sexual battery against Jackson Mahomes. But he still has one remaining misdemeanor charge, which could go to trial. The younger Mahomes appeared in Johnson County court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing during which the judge ruled in favor of the motion.Court documents say the victim at the center of the case planned to assert her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if she were compelled to testify. Prosecutors said that the woman – even if she were granted immunity – would say she has not been truthful to police and the encounter with Mahomes was consensual. Jeffrey Epstein list to be unsealed on rolling basis At Wednesday's hear...

The Oak Ridge Boys' Joe Bonsall announces retirement from touring

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Joe Bonsall, tenor singer for The Oak Ridge Boys, has announced his plans to retire from touring, according to a release. Bonsall, 75, shared an explanation with Oak Ridge Boys fans, saying he has been battling a "slow onset" of a neuromuscular disorder for over four years. "I am now at a point where walking is impossible, so I have basically retired from the road," he said. "It has just gotten too difficult."Joe Bonsall (Courtesy: Photo by Brandon Wood/Indie Bling Studio)He continued by saying, "It has been a great 50 years, and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys, band, crew, and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all. I will never forget, and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer, I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying." Bonsall started singing when he was about 4 years old, and in his mid-teens, he fell in love with Southern Gospel music harmony, according to the band's website. He join...

Bastrop County man shot from celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Day

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:46:15 GMT

Editor’s note: The above video shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2023.BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A man was shot New Year’s Day in Bastrop County from celebratory gunfire, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office.BCSO said it received 47 calls for service involving celebratory gunfire this year.“The increased calls for service concerning celebratory gunfire are not unusual with people shooting into the air during New Year’s Eve, but this year had a different outcome,” BCSO said.Officials with the sheriff's office said at 12:14 a.m. Monday, 911 received a call regarding a person being shot near Riddle Road. BCSO said investigating deputies found a man received a gunshot wound to the upper part of his back in the neck area while outside his residence.“The bullet appeared to have dropped out of the sky and was obviously a celebratory gunshot that was aimed upward. Yet, there was no gunfire in the immediate area,” BCSO said.Officials said the victim was ta...