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Body cam catches elite federal prosecutor offering his Justice Department card in DUI crash arrest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN (Associated Press)TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When police arrived at his house to investigate a hit-and-run, Joseph Ruddy, one of the nation’s most prolific federal narcotics prosecutors, looked so drunk he could barely stand up straight, leaning on the tailgate of his pickup to keep his balance. But he apparently was under control enough to be waiting with his U.S. Justice Department business card in hand. “What are you trying to hand me?” an officer asked. “You realize when they pull my body-worn camera footage and they see this, this is going to go really bad.”That footage obtained by The Associated Press showed Ruddy apparently attempting to leverage his position to blunt the fallout from a Fourth of July crash in which he is accused of drunkenly striking another vehicle and leaving the scene. But despite being charged, the 59-year-old Ruddy remained on the job for two months, representing the United States in court as...

Russian missile attack kills policeman, wounds 73 people in Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile attack Friday on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown killed one policeman and wounded at least 73 people, including nine policemen, Ukrainian officials said. Another attack in the southern Kherson region killed three people.The strikes were among multiple Russian attacks across the country overnight, officials said. Meanwhile, Moscow is trying to strengthen its position politically with local elections in the four regions it has illegally annexed, even though it doesn’t fully control any of the four. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it does not recognize the “fake elections.”The strikes came days after 16 people were killed in a Russian attack on a market in eastern Ukraine and drone debris was found in Romania. That sparked fears among local residents that the war could spread into the NATO-member country bordering Ukraine. Ten buildings were damaged in the attack on Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi ...

Jacksonville begins funerals for Black victims of racist gunman with calls to action, warm memories

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

Funerals got underway Friday for three Black people killed by a racist gunman at a Florida discount store, with friends and relatives sharing warm memories while ministers and activists called for action against rising hate crimes and gun violence.Mourners at the funeral service for Angela Michelle Carr applauded the Rev. Al Sharpton as he criticized laws that allowed the gunman to buy an assault-style rifle years after he was involuntarily committed for a mental health examination. He also denounced white supremacists who demonstrated outside Disney World a week after the Aug. 26 killings in Jacksonville. “How many people have to die before you get up — whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat — and say we’ve got to stop this and we’ve got to bring some sanity back in this country?” Sharpton said. “Have we gotten so out of bounds that we’ve normalized this stuff happening?”Carr, 52, worked as an Uber driver and was sitting in her idling car outside a Dollar General sto...

Georgia special grand jury report shows Graham and others spared from charges, and more new details

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is pursuing charges against roughly half of the people recommended to her by a special grand jury tasked with investigating efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.The decision to seek charges against 19 people, as opposed to the 39 suggested to her, was likely a combination of factors, from constitutional protections to streamlining her case against other defendants.Ultimately, Willis decided against indicting Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; two former senators from Georgia, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue; and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, even as she pursued charges against former President Donald Trump, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.Here are some of the takeaways from the long-awaited report:Why the report was released 9 months after it was finishedThe special grand jury that spent seven months hearing evidence i...

Stock market today: Wall Street closes its worst week in the last 3 with a quiet finish

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher on Friday, but not by enough to keep Wall Street from closing out its first losing week in the last three.The S&P 500 ticked up 6.35 points, or 0.1%, to 4,457.49 after falling for three straight days. It lost 1.3% for the week, which was shortened by the Labor Day holiday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75.86, or 0.2%, to 34,576.59, and the Nasdaq composite added 12.69, or 0.1%, to 13,761.53.Those indexes also fell for the week because of worries that a too-warm economy will push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high for longer. Traders ratcheted back expectations for cuts to rates next year by the Fed, after reports showed the U.S. economy remains resilient despite much higher rates and struggles for other economies around the world.Such data have pushed yields higher in the bond market, which hurts stock prices. But yields held relatively steady on Friday, helping to keep Wall Street quiet.The yield on the 10-year Treasury in...

TSX moves lower Friday while U.S. markets eke out small gain amid rate worries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted a small loss Friday, with broad-based weakness led by metals and tech, while U.S. markets eked out slim gains amid ongoing concern about interest rates. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 57.43 points at 20,074.65.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.86 points at 34,576.59.The S&P 500 index was up 6.35 points at 4,457.49, while the Nasdaq composite was up 12.70 points at 13,761.53.After a weaker August following a tech-driven rally in the first half of the year, markets seem to be under pressure heading into September, said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J Zechner Associates. The issue weighing on markets is an ongoing realization that interest rates will likely have to stay higher for longer, he said.With oil prices continuing to climb, nearing US$88 per barrel Friday, inflation could tick up this fall, said Zechner, putting more pressure on central banks. The economic data trickling...

Teen’s death leads to outpouring of concern over spicy chip challenge as sales are halted

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The death of a Massachusetts teenager after his family said he ate an extremely spicy tortilla chip has led to an outpouring of concern about the social media challenge and to retailers pulling the product from their shelves at the manufacturer’s request.The family of Harris Wolobah planned a vigil for Friday, a week after his death, to remember the basketball-loving tenth grader while they await the results of an autopsy to determine what killed him. They blamed the teen’s Sept. 1 death on the One Chip Challenge, which calls on participants to eat an eponymously named chip and then see how long they can go without consuming other food and water. The family has declined interview requests, though a man driving away from their Worcester home hours before the vigil said the family is “grieving deeply right now.” He declined to give his name.Police said they were called to the home and found Wolobah “unresponsive and not breathing.” He was tran...

Vancouver cop charged after pedestrian struck in city’s Downtown Eastside last year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

VANCOUVER — Prosecutors in British Columbia have approved multiple charges against a Vancouver police officer a year after a pedestrian was hit by a police car in the city’s Downtown Eastside.Const. Jack Zhao has been charged with driving without due care and attention, failing to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, and speeding.The province’s prosecution service says the charges were approved by an experienced Crown counsel who has no connection with the officer.Alleged video of the incident on Sept. 20, 2022, that was shared by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, shows a person standing motionless in the middle of East Hastings Street. A black police cruiser appears to hit the man without swerving and he is thrown about 10 metres as the car skids to a halt.At the time the provincial Independent Investigations Office said the man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.Zhao’s first appearance is scheduled for Sept. 28 in Vancouver pro...

No charges against Maine authorities for death of handcuffed man who was hit in head with flashlight

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s attorney general concluded there was no criminal conduct when four law enforcement officers used a stun gun and beat a handcuffed man in the head with a flashlight while facedown on a porch in a death determined to be a homicide.Jeremy Lau, 46, was erratic, violent and making unintelligible sounds while on drugs early March 1, 2022, when police responded to a report that he was trashing the home in which he’d been staying, state police said. Arresting officers used a stun gun on Lau twice and pummeled him while he was facedown, with one deputy striking him with a flashlight, including once on the head. Police said Lau continued to resist them until he was placed in an ambulance, but witness statements showed a difference in perception of the threat with people inside the house saying he appeared to be motionless by that point, documents indicated.The state’s chief medical examiner determined Lau’s death was a homicide but three troopers were exonerated...

Fourth man charged in connection with threats and vandalism targeting two New Hampshire journalists

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:30:32 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A fourth man has been charged in connection with threats and vandalism targeting public radio journalists in New Hampshire.Eric Labarge, 46, of Nashua, was arrested Friday, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts. He and three others who were previously arrested have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel.Prosecutors allege the men were involved in a plot to vandalize homes associated with New Hampshire Public Radio reporter Lauren Chooljian and news director Daniel Barrick in retaliation for a report detailing sexual misconduct allegations against a prominent businessman.In six incidents in April and May 2022, the journalists’ homes and the home of the reporter’s parents were hit with bricks, rocks and red spray paint. In one incident, a brick was thrown through a window at Chooljian’s home, and the phrase “JUST THE BEGINNING!” was spray-painted on the front of her home.The vandal...