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South Carolina inmates want executions paused while new lethal injection method is studied

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lawyers for six death row inmates out of appeals in South Carolina are asking the state Supreme Court to give full consideration to the state’s new lethal injection rules as well as the electric chair and firing squad before restarting executions after an unintended 12-year pause.The inmates said judges should decide now if the state’s new lethal injection protocol using just the sedative pentobarbital as well as killing prisoners by electrocution or shots fired into the heart do not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments.“The next set of potential plaintiffs are already in line, and more will follow. Now is the time to finally resolve these questions,” attorneys for the condemned inmates wrote in court papers filed Friday.Lawyers for the prisons and Gov. Henry McMaster asked the Supreme Court on Sept. 19, the same day they announced the lethal injection drugs were available, to toss out a lower court ruling that the e...

Dad who won appeal in college admissions bribery case gets 6 months home confinement for tax offense

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former Staples Inc. executive whose fraud and bribery convictions in the sprawling college admissions cheating scandal were thrown out by an appeals court was sentenced on Friday to six months of home confinement for a tax offense. John Wilson, 64, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced in Boston’s federal appeals court months after the 1st U.S. Circut Court of Appeals threw out nearly all of his convictions in the so-called Operation Varsity Blues case. The appeals court upheld Wilson’s conviction on a charge of filing a false tax return.Wilson was sentenced to one year of probation, with the first six months to be served in home confinement, according to the Massachusetts U.S. attorney’s office. He was also ordered to complete 250 hours of community service and pay a $75,000 fine. Prosecutors alleged at trial Wilson paid $220,000 to have his son designated as a University of Southern California water polo recruit and an additional $1 million t...

An ex-investigative journalist is sentenced to 6 years in a child sexual abuse materials case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former investigative journalist for ABC News was sentenced Friday to six years in federal prison for possessing and transporting child sexual abuse images.James Gordon Meek, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty in July, admitting in a plea agreement that he used an iPhone to exchange illicit materials during a chat session with two other people, including a video showing the sexual abuse of an infant.Court documents say an investigation began when the FBI received a tip from Dropbox about videos showing the sexual abuse of children in an account associated with Meek. An FBI affidavit said agents found dozens of child sexual abuse images and videos when they searched Meek’s home last year, going back to at least 2014.Meek joined ABC News’ Washington bureau as an investigative producer in 2013 and covered national security issues until he resigned last year. He previously worked for the New York Daily News and also served as a senior counterterrorism adviser...

Inherited Retinal Diseases: Dispelling stigma and the importance of genetic testing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRD) affect more than 20,000 Canadians and there are no treatments for the progressive conditions.They are a large group of hereditary eye conditions caused by varying gene mutations and can be diagnosed in childhood, adolescence or later in life depending on the specific disease.“I’ve had low vision since I was born …[I’m] completely night blind pretty much,” explains Ramya Amuthan, born with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) — one of many IRDs that result in partial or complete blindness.“My peripheral vision is very poor. I can’t see stairs and things around me and I also have central vision loss.”LCA is a recessive condition, which means both of Amuthan’s parents carry the mutated gene associated with the disease.“My brothers are both carriers, but they don’t have the eye condition. It basically runs in the family,” she says.Now an advocate for people with disabilitie...

Subway franchise owners must pay workers nearly $1M – and also sell or close their stores

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal court ordered the owners of 14 Subway locations north of San Francisco to pay employees nearly $1 million in damages and back pay — and also to sell or shut their businesses, with any sale proceeds going to the Department of Labor. Federal investigators said franchise owners John and Jessica Meza directed children as young as 14 to operate dangerous machinery, assigned minors work hours that violated federal law, and failed to pay their employees regularly, including by issuing hundreds of bad checks and illegally keeping tips left by customers. The Labor Department also charged that the Mezas coerced employees in an attempt to prevent them from cooperating with its investigation, sometimes threatening children who attempted to raise concerns about the work environment.According to the court order, the owners acknowledged several of the Labor Department’s findings. Messages left for the Mezas at email addresses included in the settlement were not immed...

Skilling: Beautiful weekend heading into October

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

We're just over a day away from closing the books on Sept and moving into the month of October, 2023.We're to make the transition in phenomenal meteorological fashion with a sun-filled, rain-free, unseasonably warm autumn weekend on the way.Chicago is to benefit from an abnormally warm late season pattern locked in place into mid next week by an atmospheric blocking pattern. NO RECORDS will occur here—though predicted high temps will top out just under 10-degrees from the low 90-deg records currently on the books.RECORDS ARE IN JEOPARDY in multiple states to Chicago's west.  Remarkable late season 90s in the Plains and western Midwest are likely to break some daytime high temp records in portions of 11 states there.Daytime temps in Chicago are to surge into the 80s Saturday through Wednesday---June and July level temps. Each of the coming 5 days (through Wednesday) is to post 10 to 14-deg temp surpluses.Lake breezes will blow from the southeast each day into early next week limiting...

20 years ago Friday, the Bears opened new Soldier Field opened

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

CHICAGO — When it comes to the Bears and their home stadium, things were much different 25 years ago on Friday.That's when the team was getting ready to start a new era at Soldier Field in a stadium that had undergone a massive renovation over nearly two years that still creates debate today.(JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)On September 29, 2003, the venue had its grand reopening as the Bears hosted the Packers on Monday Night Football on a cool evening in Chicago. This came after the venue had undergone a $632 million that completely transformed the inside while adding a new look to the outside over 21 months. The latter caused plenty of controversy, with many still saying today that it looks as if a spaceship had landed inside the nearly 100-year-old venue. A number of luxury suites were added along with different decks that actually dropped the capacity of the stadium to 61,500. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)It was a welcome moment for the Bears, who were forced to play...

Reservation holders frustrated after Signature Room abruptly closes without notice

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

CHICAGO -- The iconic Signature Room at the former John Hancock building abruptly closed Thursday morning and those who have put down money to reserve the restaurant for their special occasion said they're out of a place and money."I know they put a letter out for people, but they should’ve put an email out notifying people that have huge events," Andrea Purnell said.A sign posted on the door of the elevator lobby at the former John Hancock building and a message on the restaurant's Facebook page informed customers of the closure. Chicago’s iconic Signature Room closes abruptly Purnell was disappointed she didn't receive a heads up the business was closing down. 10 years ago, Purnell planned a special event for her mother at the 95th floor restaurant and was hoping to recreate those memories again in November, but instead she said she was blindsided."I've been paying them since June and I think I paid the day before," Purnell said. "I even paid an extra $400 because it was going t...

City approves petition signed by Taylor residents to stop pay increases for city council members

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) -- A petition signed by more than 1,300 Taylor residents was approved by the City of Taylor and the city clerk in an attempt to overturn a pay increase for city council members, a city spokesperson confirmed to KXAN Friday.The petition was submitted by Terry Burris, the man who started the petition.“Most were upset that the council gave themselves an increase,” Burris said.On Aug. 17, after nearly a year of discussing pay compensation, council members voted 3-2 to approve an increase that would pay council members $500 for every meeting they attend and the mayor $750 for each meeting he attends. Taylor residents try to stop pay increase for city council members Burris had to gather 940 signatures in order to make the petition valid. He set up at the local farmer’s market and saw a massive turnout from the community. He said 125 people showed up the first day to sign the petition, and in total, he received 1,345 signatures in 20 days.As for the next steps, here...

Longhorns wide receiver DeAndre Moore using NIL money for turkey-based food truck

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In an effort to stand out in Austin's food truck scene, Texas Longhorns wide receiver Deandre Moore wants to talk turkey.With his mother Taleea doing the cooking, the freshman wideout is using NIL money to fund Jive Turkey, a food truck with a turkey-based menu in central Austin at 1637 E. Riverside Drive. Longhorns’ Gbenda seeing perseverance pay off While in high school, Moore was looking to incorporate leaner sources of protein into his diet as he trained to be a college athlete. One of his solutions was replacing ground beef with ground turkey, and that was eventually the catalyst for the Jive Turkey concept. He also noticed that most of the food trucks with affordable selections were beef-based, so he wanted to promote well-being and bring underserved neighborhoods leaner food options.With the help of Clark Field Creative (formerly known as Clark Field Collective), Jive Turkey is open every day except for Mondays with plans to expand their hours of operation i...