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30-year sentence for man who sexually assaulted 2 teen girls

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man who admitted to federal authorities that he used a cellphone to record himself sexually assaulting two teenage girls has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.In one case in February 2017, Francis Scott pretended to be a driver for a ride-hailing service and offered to give a 15-year-old girl a ride to school, the U.S. attorney’s office in Providence said. Instead, he drove her to a secluded area, took away her phone and recorded himself assaulting her, prosecutors said.Following his arrest in that case, a 17-year-old girl came forward and said that after offering her a ride, Scott gave her alcohol and marijuana and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.“This degradation, exploitation, and depravity represented by this defendant’s abuse of his victims — and his recording of those acts for his own obscene enjoyment, are contemptible,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in a statement Thursday, when Scott was sentenced.Scott, ...

Police investigation underway following late night shooting in Worcester that left victim wounded

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

Police in Worcester are investigating a late night shooting in the city’s Oak Hill neighborhood that left one person wounded, according to officials.A spokesperson for the Worcester Police Department said officers located a male shooting victim around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday after responding to the area of Dorchester Street for a ShotSpotter activation.The victim was later taken to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.The spokesperson added that no arrests were made at the scene and that an investigation into the shooting was in progress.

CBP reports 8 noteworthy seizures in single day, including $1.6M worth of narcotics

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection says officers from the San Diego Field Office had eight noteworthy seizures on Monday. According to CBP, officers seized methamphetamine and fentanyl with an estimated street value of $1.6 million, plus pharmaceutical drugs, a handgun and ammunition all in a single day. The busts took place between the San Ysdiro, Tecate and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry, officials said. $5.7M in narcotics seized at San Diego port of entries over 3-day span: CBP Beginning at 4 a.m., CBP officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry intercepted the following:• 146 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 159.53 pounds, from a 35-year-old maledriver.• 134 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 141.60 pounds, from a 33-year-old femaledriver.• One handgun, two magazines, 51 rounds of 9 mm ammunition from a 61-year-old maledriver.• A bottle of Zolpidem (Ambien) containing 300 pills from a 47-year-old male trustedtraveler member.• 60 packages of methamphetamine, weighi...

Weekend need to know: Rockfest, For Iran, Earth Hour; road closures

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

An outdoor festival featuring tributes to the world’s best rock bands, a special Nowruz event aimed at showing support for people in Iran, and Earth Hour are some events happening this weekend.There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend, but ongoing road closures continue throughout the city.Here’s what’s happening this weekend:Top eventsBeaches International Jazz Festival: RockfestThe Beaches International Jazz Festival is hosting a free, outdoor show called RockFest at the Guildwood GO Station main lot on Friday and Saturday.The event will feature two days of tributes to the world’s best rock bands.The weekend lineup includes the Aerosmith tribute band, Aeroforce, the AC/DC tribute band, The AC/DC Show – Canada, the Foo Fighters tribute band, Monkey Wrench, and more.The show begins at 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.Photo credit: Beaches International Jazz FestivalFor Iran The non-prof organization, Tirgan, is celebrating Nowruz (Irani...

Why murder defendant was free before killings in Washington

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Kirkland Warren was out on bail pending a long-delayed murder trial in Arkansas. But when he was arrested in southwestern Washington state early this month on charges that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and fired a gunshot into her apartment, he quickly posted bond and was released again.Just a few days later, his ex-girlfriend, Meshay Melendez, 27, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, vanished. Police named Warren a person of interest in their disappearance.The discovery of their bodies in thick brush down a road embankment on Wednesday has raised questions about why someone facing a murder charge in another state would be released from custody after being arrested for a serious domestic violence offense.Cymber Tadlock, the deputy prosecutor who has handled Warren’s case in a 2017 killing in Jefferson County, Arkansas, said the Vancouver Police Department in Washington notified her on March 2 that they had arrested Warren for drive-by shooting and other charge...

UN decries torture, killing of Ukrainian and Russian POWs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.N. human rights monitors have documented dozens of summary killings of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war, as well as the use of torture, human shields and other abuses against POWs since Russia invaded its neighbor that could amount to war crimes, according to a report released Friday. The first full look by the U.N. human rights office’s mission in Ukraine at the treatment of POWs was released along with an update of human rights violations overall from a six-month period that ran through January. The report was based on interviews with about 400 POWs, half of them Ukrainians who were released and the other half Russians held captive in Ukraine. The team said it had no access to POWs held in Russia or Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine where it identified 48 internment sites. The mission said it nonetheless documented some 40 summary executions over the course of the 13-month war. The U.N. rights office, which has had a monitoring team in Ukraine sin...

Macron says ‘common sense’ required delaying king’s visit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French citizens angry at President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms engaged in scattered protest actions Friday, as the ongoing unrest across the country persuaded officials to postpone a planned state visit by Britain’s King Charles III.Demonstrators had demanded that Charles cancel his trip, which was scheduled to start Sunday. The protests and labor strikes against Macron’s decision to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64 already had promised to impact his visit, with workers refusing to roll out the red carpet for the king’s arrival. French President Emmanuel Macron said “common sense and friendship” required delaying the king’s visit, adding that it likely would have become a protest target and created a “detestable situation.” “We would not be serious … to make a state visit in the middle of protests,” the French leader said, speaking at a news conference after a summit in Brussels. Macron condemned the violent behavior ...

Former rebel leader is named Congo’s new Defense Minister

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congo’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.Bemba’s appointment to the key positions was announced Thursday evening on state television by President Felix Tshisekedi’s spokeswoman. Bemba’s promotion and other Cabinet appointments come less than a year ahead of Congo’s presidential elections.Congo’s former vice president between 2003 and 2006, Bemba was later imprisoned by the ICC for more than a decade, accused of murders, rapes and pillaging committed by his Movement for the Liberation of Congo forces in the neighboring country of Central African Republic. In a surprising ruling, he was acquitted by the ICC in 2018. Bemba has always maintained his innocence. Bemba’s return to prominent government positions comes nine months ahead of Congo’s presidential elections sched...

No early morning crowds as President Biden prepares for day on Parliament Hill

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

OTTAWA — The streets in front of Parliament were quiet early Friday morning as police prepared for a spectacle big enough to draw celebrities to the city, but disruptive enough to keep morning commuters at home.U.S. President Joe Biden is set to spend his day on Parliament Hill during his first official visit to Canada, and will deliver a speech in the House this afternoon. Some workers in the downtown core were asked to work from home if they could, and the few people roaming the streets in the early morning were trying to navigate roadblocks, some with frustration. Barricades of fences, police and their vehicles surround Parliament Hill, and only those with special passes are allowed in. Some people gathered to watch Biden’s motorcade arrive Thursday night but others took advantage of the empty downtown to play soccer in the street. Canadian actor Eugene Levy was also in town for the event, saying he had been invited to attend Biden’s dinner at the Aviation Museum toni...

Protesters greet Netanyahu as he meets UK leader in London

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:25:02 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Friday as protesters shouting “Shame!” In Hebrew demonstrated against the Israeli leader’s right-wing policies and his plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary.Netanyahu had to pass by hundreds of protesters waving Israeli flags and waving signs calling for the defense of Israeli democracy as he arrived at 10 Downing St. for talks that focused on the war in Ukraine and concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.Sunak also raised Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms, which have sparked mass protests in Israel and beyond. One placard in London read: “We are Israelis and Jews living in the U.K. demonstrating against Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is leading a judicial coup turning Israel into a dictatorship.”Some women protesting outside Downing Street wore red robes and white caps inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a novel and TV series set in a dystopian future. Similarly cla...