Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Investigators were treating the death of a 10-year-old boy on the world’s tallest waterslide as a “civil matter” rather than a criminal incident, a police spokesman said Monday, as the park and Kansas authorities pressed to sort out what caused the tragedy.

Few details have been released about the death Sunday of Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of a Kansas state legislator. The 168-foot-tall Verruckt is one of the top attractions of Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas. The park was closed Monday amid the investigation.   Continue reading “Police: Nothing criminal suspected in boy’s waterslide death”

Mail.com

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Johnny Small was just 15 when police came to arrest him in 1988 — so young he assumed he was in trouble for a curfew violation. Instead, police charged him with first-degree murder of a woman who owned a tropical-fish store — a place Small says he’d never even visited.

He was convicted and sentenced to life behind bars, mainly on the testimony of co-defendant — a friend who once lived with Small’s family. That man, David Bollinger, has since recanted. Bollinger says he testified only because prosecutors promised his charged would be dropped in exchange, and threatened the death penalty if he didn’t cooperate.  Continue reading “Convicted of murder as a teen, man now has shot at freedom”

Mail.com

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s longtime president has praised his security forces while warning against violent protests, days after the police crushed an anti-government march in the capital, Harare.

President Robert Mugabe spoke Monday at a commemoration event notable for the absence of some of his previously loyal wartime allies. The commemorations are held annually to honor this southern African country’s dead heroes, particularly those who fought in the 1970s independence war.   Continue reading “Zimbabwe’s president warns against further protests”

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QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber killed at least 67 people and wounded dozens more in an attack that struck a government-run hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday, police and doctors said.

Witnesses described horrifying scenes of bodies scattered on the ground the wounded screaming out for help. Hours after the attack, a breakaway faction of militant Taliban group claimed responsibility.   Continue reading “Suicide bombing at Pakistani hospital in Quetta kills 67”

RT

Gathering the materials for a radioactive ‘dirty bomb’ isn’t supposed to be simple in the US. In fact, it’s supposed to include a stringent inspection process. But an undercover congressional group in Texas had a remarkably easy time completing the task.

With terrorism keeping the US government on edge, and both major presidential nominees making it a major campaign topic, one might assume that domestically acquiring the ingredients to poison an entire city for a year or more would be an impossible task.   Continue reading “Undercover govt group easily purchased ‘dirty bomb’ materials in Texas – report”

RT

A man put a police officer under a citizen’s arrest when he noticed the Texas state trooper speeding without flashing his emergency lights. It was all caught on the citizen’s dashboard camera.

Phillip Turner claims that on Monday night, he noticed a Texas trooper flying down Interstate-35 sans emergency lights and going well over the speed limit. Turner is no stranger to interacting with the police: He is a videographer for the police watchdog group Photography is Not a Crime.   Continue reading “Man pulls over speeding state trooper, lets him off with a warning”

Mail.com

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A longtime inmate who was recently released from prison pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to robbing a bank in Wyoming and asked a judge to impose the maximum sentence, saying going back to prison would be like going home.

Just a week after the robbery, Linda P. Thompson, 59, waived her right to a grand jury proceeding and entered the plea to a bank robbery charge. Thompson said she had already spent about 18 years in prison for various crimes.   Continue reading “Woman pleads guilty to robbery, says prison is like home”

Mail.com

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — For years, authorities had concerns about Metro Transit Police Officer Nicholas Young: He traveled to Libya and boasted of joining rebel groups there, and he even described his collection of Nazi memorabilia to law enforcement, according to court documents. But until last month, authorities said, he hadn’t committed a crime.

Now Young, 36, of Fairfax, Virginia, is the first law-enforcement officer in the U.S. to be charged with a terror-related crime, after prosecutors say he bought about $250 worth of gift cards in an FBI sting for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State group.   Continue reading “Years of surveillance leads to terror charge against officer”

RT

A cargo plane with $400 million in foreign currencies was secretly sent to Iran on the same day four Americans were released from Tehran, according to a WSJ report citing EU and US officials. Washington insists the timing of the two events is coincidence.

Wooden pallets stacked with hard cash in euro, Swiss francs and other valuable currencies were flown into Iran on January 17 – exactly the same day the US exchanged seven Iranians for four Americans, said the Wall Street Journal, citing US and European officials and congressional sources.   Continue reading “US ‘secretly shipped’ $400mn to Iran before release of 4 hostages – report”

RT

CNN President Jeff Zucker completely dissed Vice and Buzzfeed in a feature profile for Variety magazine, calling the rival media outlets “native advertising shops” and saying CNN “crushes” them.

Zucker went on to say that the two aren’t worthy of being called journalistic outlets.

“I don’t think Vice and BuzzFeed are legitimate news organizations,” Zucker said, reportedly cracking a “mischievous” smile, as reported by Variety on Tuesday.   Continue reading “‘Vice, Buzzfeed not legitimate news organizations’ – CNN president”

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Emirates flight from India with 300 people on board crash landed at Dubai’s main airport Wednesday, sending black smoke billowing into the air and halting all flights at the Middle East’s busiest airport. No one was killed, and all passengers were safely evacuated before the plane was engulfed in a fireball.

The accident was the most serious ever for Emirates, which has grown at a breakneck pace over the last three decades and turned its hometown of Dubai into a major long-haul international air hub. It was the second major air disaster for a Dubai government-backed airline in less than five months.   Continue reading “Emirates airliner with 300 onboard crash lands in Dubai”

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ATWATER, Calif. (AP) — A bus was nearly sliced in half after plowing into a highway pole in California’s heavily agricultural San Joaquin Valley, killing five people as survivors faced horrific scene of wounds and screams.

Eighteen people were also injured in Tuesday’s crash, but by days’ end none were critical, officials said. Passenger Leonardo Sanchez was sleeping peacefully before dawn on the bus carrying him to Oregon to pick blueberries when he was suddenly thrown face-first into the back of the seat in front of him and awakened to the horrific scene.   Continue reading “5 dead in California bus crash; ugly images for survivors”

RT

After almost 20 years of service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a 46-year-old Chinese-born electronics technician pleaded guilty to spying for Beijing.

Kun Shan Chun told the federal court judge in New York on Monday that he was guilty of sharing sensitive US government information with China.   Continue reading “FBI employee pleads guilty to spying, leaking ‘sensitive’ information to China”

RT

The terrorist attack in Nice which killed 84 people when a truck plowed through crowds celebrating Bastille Day has prompted several French mayors to arm local police. Non-lethal weapons are incapable of stopping a “crazed attacker,” one mayor said.

“Along the Promenade des Anglais [in Nice] the municipal police and the national police had the same mission – to stop a crazed vehicle or murderer,” said Francois Bayrou, the mayor of Pau.   Continue reading “Dozens of French towns to arm local police as mayor says non-lethal weapons not enough”

Mail.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for Dylann Roof, the white man charged with killing nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church, want a federal judge to rule the death penalty unconstitutional and allow their client to plead guilty and serve life in prison.

Lawyers for 22-year-old Dylan Roof filed the motion on Monday saying a flawed process of sitting juries willing to recommend the death penalty violates the rights of both potential jurors and defendants.   Continue reading “Roof attorneys want death penalty ruled unconstitutional”

Mail.com

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s municipal election season has been deadly for candidates and party activists, with more than 12 killed ahead of Wednesday’s vote. National police have determined it a serious enough problem to create a task force to investigate the deaths, most of them occurring in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.

One motivation behind the killings is the chance of a steady job as a councillor in a country where more than 25 percent of people are unemployed, said Gareth Newham, head of the governance, crime and justice division of the local Institute for Security Studies.   Continue reading “Deadly election season for South Africa’s candidates”

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MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian transport helicopter was shot down in opposition rebel territory in northern Syria on Monday and all five crew and officers onboard were killed, the Kremlin said, in the deadliest single incident for the Russian military since its entrance into Syria’s civil war.

The Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Idlib province while returning to the Russian air base on Syria’s coast after delivering humanitarian goods to the city of Aleppo, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The helicopter had three crew members and two officers deployed with the Russian center at the Hemeimeem air base on the Syrian coast.   Continue reading “Russian helicopter shot down in Syria, killing all 5 onboard”

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Just days ahead of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press.

Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions, but the AP’s tests indicate that tourists also face potentially serious health risks on the golden beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.   Continue reading “Expert to Rio athletes: ‘Don’t put your head under water’”