Author: Sunfire

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oscar Pistorius was convicted of murder on Thursday by a South African appeals court that described the once-glittering story of the double-amputee Olympian and Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed in his home in 2013, as “a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.”

The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s conviction on the less serious charge of manslaughter, adding another twist to a case that riveted people around the world because of its gripping saga of a celebrity athlete’s plunge from grace by his own hand.   Continue reading “Prison looms for Oscar Pistorius after murder conviction”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The makers of a breakthrough hepatitis drug put profits before patients in pricing the $1,000 pill that’s become a symbol of the excessive cost of medications, Senate investigators said Tuesday.

A bipartisan report from the Senate Finance Committee concluded that California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. was focused on maximizing revenue for its hepatitis C medications, even as the company’s own analysis showed a lower price would allow more patients to be treated.   Continue reading “Report: Drug maker was focused on profits, not patients”

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The married couple dubbed the “San Francisco witch killers” seemed locked away for good when each was sentenced to 75 years to life for three Northern California murders three decades ago.

But because of a recent federal court ruling, prison officials had to consider them for parole. On Wednesday, a parole board at a women’s prison in Chino, California, will consider whether Suzan Carson, 73, is suitable for release.   Continue reading “‘San Francisco witch killer’ getting parole consideration”

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Police in Alaska’s capital city have not determined whether the city’s new mayor died from a natural event or foul play but have tentatively ruled out gunshots, drugs or suicide in the death.

Stephen “Greg” Fisk, 70, was found in his Juneau home with injuries that police did not describe. Police are awaiting autopsy results to announce a possible cause of death. “It’s not clear what the cause of those injuries are,” police spokeswoman Erann Kalwara said Tuesday.   Continue reading “Police say Alaska’s capital city mayor didn’t die of gunshot”

RT

No charges have been pressed against a man who killed a 13-year-old boy, having caught him stealing from an unlocked car, St Louis police said.

The black teenager, Martinez Smith-Payne, was discovered unconscious and bleeding in a back alley by security forces in St. Louis, Missouri, in the wee hours of Sunday, AFP reported.   Continue reading “US prosecutors press no charges after 13yo boy is shot dead for stealing”

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A rudder control system problem that had occurred nearly two dozen times in the previous 12 months coupled with the pilots’ response led to last year’s crash of an AirAsia plane in Indonesia that killed all 162 people on board, investigators said Tuesday.

In releasing their report, the country’s National Transportation Safety Committee said an analysis of Flight 8501’s data recorder showed the rudder control system had sent repeated warnings to the pilots during the Dec. 28 flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.   Continue reading “Rudder problem, pilot actions led to Indonesia AirAsia crash”

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OLONGAPO, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court on Tuesday convicted a U.S. Marine of killing a Filipino last year after he discovered she was a transgender woman in a hotel while he was on a break after participating in joint military exercises in the country.

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of homicide by first strangling Jennifer Laude and then dunking her head into a toilet bowl in the hotel they had checked into after meeting in a disco bar in October 2014 in Olongapo, a city northwest of Manila. He was sentenced to 6-12 years in jail and credited with time already spent in detention, said court clerk Gerry Gruspe.   Continue reading “US Marine found guilty of killing transgender Filipino”

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WELCH, W.Va. (AP) — The seams of coal in some of Eddie Asbury’s mines in McDowell County are so thin workers can barely squeeze down them. They enter on carts nearly flat on their backs, the roof of the mine coursing by just a few inches in front of their faces. They don’t stand up all day.

To keep his business operating with such a paltry amount of coal, Asbury has to do everything himself. He has no use for the shiny, multimillion-dollar mining machines on display this fall at the biannual coal show nearby. His equipment is secondhand stuff that he repairs and refurbishes. The coal he and his workers scrape out of the mountain is washed and prepared for sale in a plant Asbury and a colleague built themselves.   Continue reading “Appalachia grasps for hope as coal loses its grip”

RT

A suspected burglar tried to enter a house in California through its chimney, getting trapped inside it for a day. He died when the homeowner returned and lit fire, unaware that there had been a person inside.

Fresno County Sheriff deputies received a call at around 3:00pm on Saturday from a man who reported that he had lit fire in his fireplace and then heard screams from the chimney, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said on its official website.    Continue reading “Burglary suspect gets stuck in chimney, dies after homeowner lights fire”

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JERUSALEM (AP) — A Jerusalem court on Monday convicted two Israeli youths in the grisly killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy whose slaying was part of a chain of events that led to last year’s Gaza war.

The court delayed the verdict for the third and chief suspect in the case due to a last-minute insanity plea, sparking claims that Israel is too lenient with Jewish assailants. The court found the two Israeli minors guilty of killing Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was kidnapped, beaten unconscious and then burned alive in July 2014. Their names were not released under Israeli law. The sentencing of the two is expected in mid-January.   Continue reading “Israel convicts 2 youths in 2014 killing of Palestinian teen”

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NEW DELHI (AP) — An Islamic State group affiliate in Bangladesh said Friday it was behind an attack on a Shiite mosque in the country’s north that killed one man and wounded three others.

A statement posted on IS-affiliated Twitter accounts from Islamic State – Bangladesh said that the mosque was hit by a barrage of shots fired from machine guns. At least five assailants fired on worshippers during evening prayers Thursday at the mosque in Haripur village in the Bogra district. A mosque official in his 70s who had been leading the prayers was killed.   Continue reading “Affiliate of IS group claims Bangladesh Shiite mosque attack”

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After more than 40 years at war, one of Afghanistan’s most notorious warlords, designated a “global terrorist” by the United States and blacklisted by the United Nations along with Osama bin Laden, wants to come out of the shadows.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now in his late 60s, says he wants a “real and fair peace” but with conditions the Kabul government is unlikely to even contemplate, such as the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan and new elections in 2016.   Continue reading “Notorious warlord seeks comeback, leverage in Afghanistan”

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A sex offender with a stolen boarding pass got through airport security in Salt Lake City and checked in at a gate for a flight to California before he was caught earlier this month, authorities have disclosed.

Michael Salata, 61, was arrested on Nov. 5 after boarding the Southwest Airlines flight, according to jail records obtained Thursday. He had grabbed a boarding pass that a woman accidentally left at a check-in kiosk and used it to get through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, said Craig Vargo, chief of airport police.   Continue reading “Utah man passes airport security with stolen boarding pass”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Because of man-made global warming and a strong El Nino, Earth’s wild weather this year is bursting the annual heat record, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday.

The United Nations weather agency’s early bird report on 2015 says it is the hottest year on record, surpassing last year’s record heat. It made the proclamation without waiting for the end of the year because it has been so extraordinarily hot, forecast to stay that way and unlikely to cool down enough to not set a record.   Continue reading “UN weather agency: It’s record hot out there this year”

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CHICAGO (AP) — A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times and is expected to be charged with murder surrendered to authorities at the courthouse early Tuesday, just a day ahead of a deadline for the city to release a squad-car video of the shooting.

Veteran officer Jason Van Dyke is expected to be indicted in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, an official close to the investigation told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt an announcement of the charge.   Continue reading “Source: Chicago cop expected to be charged in teen’s death”

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The latest on the Russian warplane shot down by Turkey on Tuesday (All times local):

4:43 p.m. Syria’s Information Minister says the shooting down of a Russian warplane is a “new crime” that will be added to the record of insurgent groups and the countries that finance and arm them. Omran al-Zoubi specified Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar _ countries that have been among the strongest backers of insurgent groups trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power.   Continue reading “The Latest: Syria official says downing Russia plane a crime”