Author: Sunfire

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JARRATT, Va. (AP) — A man convicted of killing a family of four, slashing their throats and setting their home ablaze after they left their front door open while preparing for a New Year’s Day party in 2006, was executed Wednesday.

Ricky Gray was pronounced dead at 9:42 p.m. following a lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. The 39-year-old inmate was put to death with the sedative midazolam, followed by rocuronium bromide to halt breathing, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.   Continue reading “Virginia man convicted of 2006 slaying of family is executed”

RT

British engineering company Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay a record £671 million ($830 million) to British, US and Brazilian authorities to settle bribery and corruption allegations.

The company said it “apologized unreservedly for the conduct which has been uncovered.”   Continue reading “Rolls-Royce apologizes for bribery scandal and pays huge fine”

RT

Central Italy was struck with a series of earthquakes, measuring up to magnitude 5.7, with tremors reportedly felt across the regions of Abruzzo, Marche and Lazio – including the city of Rome.

The initial quake, measuring 5.4, hit at around 10:25am local time on Wednesday and was recorded 104km (69 miles) northeast of Rome, according to the US Geological Survey. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reports the depth of the quake at 10km. Up to seven quakes followed, the largest measuring 5.7, hitting 110km northeast of Rome, according to the EMSC.   Continue reading “Series of earthquakes in central Italy disrupt transport links, close schools”

Mail.com

TOKYO (AP) — A family of four believed to be from Australia has been rescued after becoming lost on a ski resort in central Japan, where they survived the night reportedly inside a hole they dug in the snow.

Police said Tuesday that the family — a woman in her 50s and her three sons — went off course while skiing near the 1,650-meter (5,413-foot) peak of Nozawa Onsen ski resort the previous day. Rescuers were unable to find the family Monday night, but found them walking down a hiking trail early Tuesday.   Continue reading “Australian family of 4 OK after night on Japanese mountain”

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ISTANBUL (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of Istanbul nightclub gunman (all times local): 7:20 p.m. Turkey’s state-run news agency says the gunman who carried out the attack on the Istanbul nightclub was wanted in his home country of Uzbekistan for membership in a “terror organization.”

Anadolu Agency, reporting from Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent on Tuesday, said the alleged assailant left the country for Afghanistan six years ago. The agency based its report on unnamed security sources and added that Uzbek authorities were sharing information with Turkey on the suspect, identified as Abdulkadir Masharipov.   Continue reading “The Latest: Report: Gunman was on wanted list in Uzbekistan”

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PHOENIX (AP) — The man who shot and severely beat an Arizona state trooper last week was a former member of the Mexican federal police who was in the country illegally, authorities said. He had rolled his car on Interstate 10 before he inexplicably attacked the officer who had stopped to help.

Leonard Pennelas-Escobar opened fire on Trooper Edward Andersson early Thursday after the officer had stopped on the interstate and set up flares in a bid to get motorists to slow down. Pennelas-Escobar said something unrecognizable in Spanish before shooting the trooper, and then he started landing blows with his fists and beating the trooper’s head on the ground, Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said Monday.   Continue reading “Authorities: Trooper was shot by driver he sought to help”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night,” Prince once sang. But his money matters a lot to the IRS, and the case provides a cautionary tale not just for the wealthy, but not-so-rich Americans as well.

Prince’s estate has until Saturday to file an estate tax payment for the late rock superstar, and the taxes are expected to ultimately swallow nearly half the estate’s estimated $200 million value, meaning a likely windfall of roughly $100 million for the government. Estate law experts say Prince could have prevented that. Here are the issues:   Continue reading “Tax deadline looms for Prince estate; government to get half”

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former pro wrestler Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, who earlier this month was found not competent to stand trial in the 1983 death of his girlfriend, has died at his son-in-law’s home in Florida. He was 73.

Attorney Robert Kirwan II said Snuka was taken Sunday to the home near Pompano Beach so that he could spend his last moments there. The family informed him shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday to say he had died, Kirwan said.   Continue reading “Former pro wrestler Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka dies at 73”

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SYDNEY (AP) — The nearly three-year search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 ended Tuesday, possibly forever — not because investigators have run out of leads, but because the countries involved in the expensive and vast deep-sea hunt have shown no appetite for opening another big phase.

Late last year, as ships with high-tech search equipment covered the last strips of the 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) search zone, experts concluded they should have been searching a smaller area immediately to the north. But by then, $160 million had already been spent by Malaysia, Australia and China, who had agreed over the summer not to search elsewhere without pinpoint evidence.   Continue reading “MH370 hunt ends, maybe forever, after nearly 3 years, $160M”

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama’s request. It did not name the prisoners. “In consideration of their humanitarian situation, 10 persons have been released from detention and arrived in the sultanate today for a temporary residence,” the statement said.   Continue reading “Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees”

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WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Thousands of people showed up in freezing temperatures on Sunday in Michigan to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition.

Labor unions were a strong presence at the demonstration in a parking lot at Macomb Community College in the Detroit suburb of Warren, where some people carried signs saying “Save our Health Care.” Lisa Bible, 55, of Bancroft, Michigan, said she has an autoimmune disease and high cholesterol. She said the existing law has been an answer to her and her husband’s prayers, but she worries that if it’s repealed her family may get stuck with her medical bills.   Continue reading “Thousands rally to resist Republican health law repeal drive”

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CHICAGO (AP) — A police officer confronted by a fleeing gunman suspected of shooting three people fatally shot the man early Sunday, Chicago police said. Officers were on routine patrol in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the city’s West side when they heard gunshots and began chasing a 34-year-old man, police said.

“Officers initiated a foot pursuit during which the offender ran to an alley and confronted them with a weapon. As a result of this action, one of the pursuing officers discharged his weapon striking the offender multiple times,” police said in a statement.   Continue reading “Chicago police officer fatally shoots fleeing gunman”

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CHICAGO (AP) — A 22-year-old central Illinois man who was arrested and detained after posting online pictures of himself burning an American flag has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have the state’s flag desecration law declared unconstitutional.

Such state laws are already invalid after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled separately, in 1989 and 1990, that flag burning and other forms of damage are constitutionally protected free speech. However, dozens of states still have the laws.   Continue reading “Central Illinois man files lawsuit over flag-burning arrest”

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military in Afghanistan said on Thursday that its investigation into a November firefight with the Taliban in northern Kunduz province has shown that 33 civilians died in the raid during which U.S. troops fired on Afghan homes.

The probe followed claims that civilian deaths resulted from airstrikes called in to support Afghan and U.S. forces who came under fire in the province’s village of Buz-e Kandahari, which targeted two senior Taliban commanders.   Continue reading “US military: November fight with Taliban killed 33 civilians”

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Law enforcement officers made good on promises to go after people they think aided a fugitive in the weeks before he became the focus of a manhunt in the fatal shooting of an Orlando police sergeant, arresting three people they say helped him after the killing of his pregnant ex-girlfriend.

Markeith Loyd’s niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, was arrested on an accessory charge Wednesday. Later the same day, authorities arrested an ex-girlfriend of Loyd’s: Jameis Slaughter, who also faces a charge of accessory, according to online jail records.   Continue reading “3 charged with helping fugitive before officer’s killing”

RT

German carmaker Volkswagen has negotiated a $4.3 billion draft deal with US authorities to resolve the so-called defeat device emissions scandal, according to a company statement.

The settlement involves pleading guilty to certain civil and criminal charges, as Volkswagen is seeking to restore its tainted global brand.   Continue reading “Volkswagen to pay US $4.3 billion to settle diesel debacle”

RT

The European currency may cease to exist in 10 years without significant economic reforms, mainly by France and Germany, according to French presidential candidate and former economy minister Emmanuel Macron.

“The truth is that we must collectively recognize that the euro is incomplete and cannot last without major reforms,” Macron said in a speech at Humboldt University in Berlin on Tuesday, as cited by Reuters.   Continue reading “Bye-bye, euro: France’s Macron says European currency may vanish in 10 years”

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Lawyers for a Texas death row inmate who killed two men after one of them mocked him for falling for a fake drug deal are looking to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep him from becoming the first prisoner executed in the nation this year.

Christopher Wilkins, 48, is set for lethal injection Wednesday evening. Wilkins explained to jurors at his capital murder trial in 2008 how and why he killed his friends in Fort Worth three years earlier, saying he didn’t care if they sentenced him to death.  Continue reading “Convicted killer of 2 in Fort Worth set to die Wednesday”