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Oklahoma judge rules a man who wrongfully spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder is innocent

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge has exonerated a man who spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder, the longest serving inmate to be declared innocent of a crime. Glynn Simmons, 71, who was released in July after prosecutors agreed that key evidence in his case was not turned over to his defense lawyers, was ruled innocent Tuesday.“This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned… was not committed by Mr. Simmons,” according to the ruling by Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo.Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days since his conviction, making him the longest imprisoned U.S. inmate to be exonerated, according to data kept by The National Registry of Exonerations.Simmons said afterward that he feels vindicated after his time in prison that included initially being sentenced to death row.“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Simmons said during a brief news conferen...

A 7th person in Tennessee has died due to tornado-producing storms

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A seventh person in Tennessee has died from injuries she suffered during a string of powerful storms earlier this month that whipped up destructive tornadoes, according to police.Penny Scroggins, a 78-year-old from Clarksville, died Saturday after she was hospitalized with injuries she sustained when the tornado ripped through the city on Dec. 9, said Clarksville Police Department spokesperson Scott Beaubien. Three others died due to the tornado as well, including a 10-year-old. Another three people died after a different tornado tore through the Madison section of Nashville later that day.Scroggins, who was born in Muncie, Indiana, was remembered as a wonderful mother and grandmother who was kind-hearted and never met a stranger.“She loved watching sports, working, and spending time with her family,” her obituary says. “Penny was loved by so many and her family will miss the way she lit up a room with her smile.”The tornado that hit Clarksville, ...

Closing arguments set in final trial of first responders charged in Eljah McClain’s death

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Closing arguments are scheduled Wednesday in the final trial of first responders prosecuted in the death of Elijah McClain.The 23-year-old Black man died in 2019 after being stopped and forcibly restrained by police officers in the Denver suburb of Aurora and then injected with an overdose of ketamine, a sedative, by paramedics. The officers already have gone to trial and two were acquitted, including one who has since returned to work for the Aurora Police Department. The third officer was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.Aurora Fire Department paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec are being tried for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.The defense has argued that Cooper and Cichuniec followed their training in giving ketamine to McClain after diagnosing him with “excited delirium,” a disputed condition some say is unscientific and has been used to justify excessive force. Paramedics in Aurora had been ...

Swiss upper house seeks to ban display of racist, extremist symbols that incite hatred and violence

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s upper house of parliament took steps Wednesday toward banning the use of racist symbols that excuse violent or extremist behavior, including speech, gestures and the display of flags that stir hatred, as well as the public wearing of symbols reminiscent of Nazi tyranny in Europe.The Council of States voted 23-16, with three abstentions, on a proposal that aims to criminalize displays of such symbols and gestures in the public space. Lawmakers said they still need to flesh out just how far the legislation would go.The measure now moves on to the lower house, the National Council.Such a measure, if passed, would put Switzerland on track to join several of its European neighbors that have similar bans against incitement to hatred.While the legislative effort has been in the works for months, it comes as much of Europe has seen a rise in antisemitism, following Israel’s muscular military response in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 assault.“There’s no pl...

After 12 years, two children and ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach quietly marry

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are officially married, their representative told The Associated Press Wednesday.The two filmmakers have been together for 12 years, have two children and collaborated on many films, including “Barbie,” which they co-wrote and Gerwig directed. They met on Baumbach’s “Greenberg” and went on to work together on films like “Mistress America” and “Frances Ha,” which they co-wrote, Baumbach directed and Gerwig acted in.Baumbach was previously married to and shares a child with Jennifer Jason Leigh.Gerwig and Baumbach wrote “Barbie” during the pandemic, not knowing if it would ever actually get made. In a “60 Minutes” interview from earlier this year Baumbach said that Gerwig signed them up to write it without telling him and he even tried to get out of it. His attempts, he laughed, were unsuccessful because “Greta was persistent and Greta saw something,” he said.The film became a cultural phenomenon and the highest grosser of the year, with over $1.4 billio...

2 men found dead in submerged SUV after a police chase

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

GREENCASTLE, Pa. (AP) — A sport utility vehicle being pursued by police in Pennsylvania crashed into a body of water, and two men were found dead inside, authorities said.State police in Franklin County said troopers were dispatched to an Antrim Township avenue on a report of two men unlawfully entering vehicles. Troopers later spotted the suspect vehicle on another road and tried to stop it, but the SUV failed to stop and a pursuit began.Police said the vehicle traveled off the roadway and through a number of farm fields and properties, and while traveling through one field it went over a steep embankment. Trooper Megan Frazer said the vehicle landed upside down in a body of water in an irrigated cornfield. Fire rescue and emergency responders were called, and the two men were later found dead inside the vehicle. Their names weren’t immediately released.The Associated Press

Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action won’t be done until 2081: report

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

A new report from the Yellowhead Institute says Canada won’t complete all 94 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action until 2081.The institute found that no calls to action were completed over the course of 2023.Only 13 of the 94 recommendations from the commission, which documented the history and effects of the residential schools system, have been completed since 2015.Yellowhead says the era of reconciliation has become largely stagnant in Canada, and this progress report will be its last.The group says it’s unclear how best to compel the Canada’s federal government to complete the calls to action, saying Ottawa has proven to be an unwilling partner.The report released today says there are five main challenges to reconciliation: paternalism, structural anti-Indigenous discrimination, reconciliation as exploitation or performance, insufficient resources and the economic interests and apathy of non-Indigenous peopleThis report by The Cana...

Nearly 3.5M travelers expected at Chicago airports this holiday season

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

CHICAGO — The holiday traveling season is in full swing with close to 3.5 million people expected to pass through Chicago's two airports between Wednesday and January 2.Wednesday is the busiest day at O'Hare International Airport. Both airlines and the federal government hope this year goes a lot smoother than last year.The Department of Transportation is keeping a close eye on airlines after Southwest had a systemwide meltdown last year. Close to one million people were left stranded with luggage piling up at airports across the country.Earlier this week, Southwest Airlines was fined $140 million, an amount meant to send a message that there is a difference between an act of God, like a snowstorm, and an airline just not being ready."We can't make guarantees on behalf of the airline industry for how Christmas and New Year's will go, but I will say there's been a lot of improvement," said Sec. Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Department. New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular returnin...

1 in 10 million bison found in Oklahoma — why's it so rare?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

QUAPAW, Okla. (KSNF) — A rare "genetically pure" white bison, whose odds of existing are around 1 in 10 million, was identified in northeast Oklahoma. As the largest land mammal in North America, approximately 30 million bison once roamed the plains states. However, bison suffered greatly during the westward expansion of the 1800s and nearly went extinct. At one point, less than 1,000 remained in the wild.Thanks to conservation efforts, the number of North American bison is now estimated to be upwards of 600,000 and growing.Those same conservation efforts have also led to the discovery of a rare type of bison — one that the Quapaw Tribe of northeast Oklahoma says they're extremely lucky to have in their care.(Photo: KSNF)Mitch Albright, the Director of Agriculture for the Quapaw Nation, is responsible for looking after 175 head of bison located on tribal land. Albright noticed one of the bulls in his care looked different from the rest.His name is Frosty — a name that suits him well...

WATCH: Marine surprises son during school assembly

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:48:45 GMT

WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A third-grader at a Wallingford, Connecticut, elementary school got an early Christmas surprise on Tuesday when his father returned home from Marine training.Marcel Black thought his early morning assembly at Mary Fritz Elementary School was about upcoming events. Principal Eric Carbone said he was going to show a video from Marcel's dad during the assembly, but it seemed to malfunction.That's because the Marine, who is stationed in California for training, was actually there in person. "Once I got a closer look, I realized that was my dad, so I ran up to him and hugged him," Marcel said.Black will head back to California in January. For now, he's soaking up the time with his family."I hadn't seen him in a long time," Pfc. Clayton Black said. "He's my motivation to push through my training.""I really want to catch up on some father-son things we haven't done in a while," Marcel Black said.