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Showing posts from December, 2023

'The Long Island Serial Killer': How cell phones and a pizza box led to a suspect in 3 cases

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For years, investigators searched for the person responsible for dead bodies that were found on a Long Island beach. This summer, they caught a big break. Sara Karnes was sitting in her Times Square hotel room when she says she received a cell phone call from a blocked number. She said the voice on the other line, an unknown male caller who was calm and matter of fact, revealed personal details about her friend, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished days earlier in July 2007 while working as an escort in New York City. "'I just saw her,'" Karnes recalls the man saying. "'She's at a whorehouse in Queens.'" Rex Heuermann is shown in this booking photo released by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. Suffolk County Sheriff's Department Exactly 16 years after the chilling phone call, Karnes said she believes that mystery voice was that of Rex Heuermann, a married father of two and New York architect who is charged in the murders of three

This is how many billion-dollar disasters have struck the US this year

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A record number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have already hit the U.S. this year, according to NOAA, with several months left to go in 2023. A record number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have already hit the U.S. this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with several months remaining in 2023. A total of 23 separate billion-dollar disasters have been confirmed this year -- the most events on record during a calendar year, NOAA announced on Thursday. Roofing material covers a fallen palm tree after Hurricane Idalia in Perry, Fla., Aug. 31, 2023. Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE The average number of billion-dollar weather- and climate-related events between 1980 and 2022 is 8.1. However, the annual average for the past five years, 2018 to 2022, is 18 events. These events include two flooding events, 18 severe storm events, including Hurricane Idalia in August, one tropical cyclone event, one w

Man walks into FBI office to confess to killing, raping woman in 1979 in Boston: DA

A man is in custody after he allegedly voluntarily confessed to killing and raping a young woman in Boston in 1979. A man is in custody after he allegedly voluntarily confessed to killing and raping a young woman in Boston in 1979, according to prosecutors. Susan Marcia Rose, a 24-year-old with red hair, was killed in an apartment building in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood on Oct. 30, 1979, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Monday. In August, 68-year-old John Irmer of Oregon walked into the FBI office in Portland and allegedly told agents that he met a woman with red hair at a Boston skating rink around Halloween 1979, prosecutors said. MORE: Police have no defined search area as manhunt intensifies for escaped Pennsylvania convict Danelo Cavalcante Irmer said he and the woman walked into 285 Beacon Street, which was under renovation. Irmen then allegedly picked up a hammer and fatally hit her on the head before raping her, according to prosecutors. Irme

Trump files motion to have judge in federal election interference case disqualified

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Former President Trump has filed a motion seeking to have the judge overseeing his federal 2020 election interference case be recused and disqualified. Former President Donald Trump on Monday made his first formal push to have the judge overseeing his federal 2020 election interference case be recused and disqualified , according to a filing from his attorneys. The recusal motion filed by Trump's attorneys cites comments from D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in past cases she oversaw for individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which they argue shows she "suggested that President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned." "Such statements, made before this case began and without due process, are inherently disqualifying," Trump's attorneys said in the motion. "Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial -- and may believe that she can do so -- her public statements unavoidab

California lawmakers vote to end travel ban to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws

California lawmakers have voted to end a ban on state-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California may soon lift a ban on state -funded Travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws and instead focus on an advertising campaign to bring anti-discrimination messages to red states . California started banning official travel to states with laws it deemed discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people in 2017, starting with Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. Since then, the list has grown to include a total of 26 states, most of them Republican-led, following a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation these past few years. The prohibition has prevented elected officials, state workers and university scholars from traveling to more than half of the country using the state's money. That has posed a significant challenge to sports teams at public colleges and universities, which have had to find alternative funding sources to pay for their road games in states l

Spotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo: Conservation organization

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A spotless giraffe was spotted in the wild weeks after one was born at a Tennessee zoo, a conservation organization announced in a news release. A rare spotless giraffe was spotted in the wild mere weeks after one was born at a Tennessee zoo, a conservation organization announced in a press release Monday. The Angolan giraffe was photographed on a private game reserve in central Namibia, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. In July, a spotless giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, in what David Bright, the zoo's director, told "Good Morning America" was "definitely a shock." MORE: American caver hoisted to safety after 12 days in Turkish cave Following a naming contest, where the zoo asked the public to name the giraffe, the animal was named Kipekee, which means "unique" in Swahili. Bright said Kipekee is "doing well and growing." "This is our first one without a pattern," said Bright, who has bee

Grandmother of pregnant woman Ta'Kiya Young fatally shot by Ohio police speaks out

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The grandmother of the pregnant 21-year-old fatally shot by an Ohio police officer spoke out Wednesday following the release of the police body camera of the incident. The grandmother of a pregnant 21-year-old, who was fatally shot by an Ohio police officer, spoke out Wednesday during a virtual press briefing following the release of the police body camera video of the incident. Nadine Young said the body camera video of her granddaughter Ta'Kiya Young’s fatal shooting on Aug. 24, which was released by the Blendon Township Police Department on Friday, made her feel "real sick." "It was void of any humanity or any decency at all. He must be held accountable, full stop," Nadine Young said. Ta'Kiya Young, 21, of Columbus, was seven months pregnant when she was shot and killed, her family said. Her funeral will be held on Thursday. Young was a potential shoplifting suspect when she was approached by police in a Kroger's parking lot, according to police.

E. Jean Carroll's original defamation suit against Trump should be paused, his attorney argues

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Writer E. Jean Carroll's original defamation lawsuit against former President Trump should be paused to give him time to invoke an immunity defense, his attorney argues. A federal appeals court should pause writer E. Jean Carroll's original defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump in order to give him time to invoke an immunity defense, his attorney argued in a hearing Tuesday. The lawsuit by the former Elle magazine columnist is scheduled to go to trial in January. It alleges that Trump defamed her in 2019 when he said she was "not my type" and accused her of having a political and financial motive when he denied her rape claim. Trump has decide all wrongdoing. MORE: Judge sets January 2024 trial date for E. Jean Carroll's original defamation case against Trump The judge in the case has ruled the trial is only about money, since a jury established in a related case that Trump was liable for defaming and battering Carroll. "With a trial sc

Tyre Nichols: A timeline of the investigation into his death

The investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols continues, as five officers are charged in connection with his death. The investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, continues. Nichols died several days after a violent traffic stop captured in body camera footage, which shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly. Five officers have been charged so far in connection with his death. His death has prompted protests and unrest across the country. Here is a timeline of the events leading up to and surrounding his death: Jan. 7: Tyre Nichols pulled over Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving. According to Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, Tyre was 2 minutes away from his home when he was pulled over. Officials said that Memphis officers approached Nichols, who ran away. Officers say they then pursued Nichols after he ran and apprehended him, police said. Attorneys for Nichols' family said the body camera