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House readies test vote on impeaching Homeland Secretary Mayorkas for handling of southern border

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is holding a test vote Monday on whether to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a step usually reserved for grave misconduct in office that is instead being wielded in an extraordinary effort to remove the Cabinet secretary for his handling of the southern border.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-right Republican from Georgia, forced a vote on impeaching Mayorkas floor through a rule that allows any single member to force a snap vote on resolutions, including constitutional matters such as impeachment. Democrats have sought to bottle the matter up through a vote on Monday evening that would “table” or kill the impeachment resolution, but the outcome is uncertain. Several prominent Republicans have become outspoken advocates of pushing ahead on the GOP’s longstanding effort to impeach Mayorkas. House GOP whip Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, as well as Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose congressional district run...

Confederate military relics dumped during Union offensive unearthed in South Carolina river cleanup

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Hundreds of Civil War relics were unearthed during the cleanup of a South Carolina river where Union troops dumped Confederate military equipment to deliver a demoralizing blow for rebel forces in the birthplace of the secessionist movement.The artifacts were discovered while crews removed tar-like material from the Congaree River and bring new tangible evidence of Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s ruthless Southern campaign toward the end of the Civil War. The remains are expected to find a safer home at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in the state capital of Columbia.Historical finds include cannonballs, a sword blade and a wheel experts believe belonged to a wagon that blew up during the two days of supply dumps. The odds of finding the wagon wheel “are crazy,” according to Sean Norris.“It’s an interesting story to tell,” said Norris, the archaeological program manager at an environmental consulting firm called TRC. “I...

Escaped murderer charged with burglary and theft while on the run for 2 weeks

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

A convicted murderer who escaped from a southeastern Pennsylvania prison earlier this year and eluded a massive two-week search before he was recaptured is now facing new theft, burglary and other charges in alleged crimes committed while he was on the run.Danelo Souza Cavalcante, 34, convicted of the murder of an ex-girlfriend before his Aug. 31 escape from Chester County Prison, is now formally charged with having stolen a transit van and burglarizing homes in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a rifle and ammunition, clothing, a sleeping bag and other items were stolen.“The defendant used all means necessary to escape from prison and stay hidden from authorities. These offenses aided his efforts and elevated his threat to the public,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement.Cavalcante was charged Monday with felony counts of burglary, criminal trespass, theft and possession of a firearm as well as a number of misdemeanor charges including theft and receiving stolen prop...

Jury deliberates fate of suspected serial killer accused in six deaths in Delaware and Philadelphia

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A Delaware jury heard closing arguments and began deliberations Monday in the trial of a suspected serial killer accused in the deaths of six people in Delaware and Pennsylvania in 2021.Keith Gibson, 41, of Philadelphia, is charged with murder in the killings of Elsmere cellphone store clerk Leslie Ruiz-Basilio, 28, and Wilmington drug dealer Ronald Wright, 42, during separate robberies. He is also charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Wilmington store clerk Belal Almansoori, and the armed robbery of a drug store.The Philadelphia district attorney, meanwhile, has approved murder charges against Gibson in the killings of his mother and a Philadelphia doughnut shop manager, as well as the deaths of two men found shot in the head at a store in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. Authorities say they will pursue those charges after Gibson is prosecuted in Delaware.Prosecutors in Delaware have relied heavily on video surveillance footage showing th...

Authorities ID a girl whose body was hidden in concrete in 1988 and arrest her mom and boyfriend

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A 5-year-old girl whose body was found encased in concrete and dumped in the woods of rural southeast Georgia has been identified nearly 35 years later, authorities said Monday as they announced the child’s mother and a live-in boyfriend have been charged with her murder.DNA tests that began years ago and a crucial tip investigators received in January finally enabled them to determine that Kenyatta Odom was the young victim known for decades only as Baby Jane Doe. Kenyatta was killed in her hometown of Albany, Georgia, before her body was dumped 110 miles (177 kilometers) away outside the small city of Waycross, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Jason Seacrist said. It was discovered among broken furniture and other trash left in the woods on Dec. 21, 1988.“Baby Jane Doe is no longer unnamed, is no longer unknown,” Seacrist told a news conference that the GBI streamed online from Waycross, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Savannah. ...

Lt. Gen. Richard Clark brings leadership, diplomacy skills to CFP as it expands, evolves

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

The College Football Playoff is on the verge of expanding, in the process of searching for its next set of media partners for what is expected to be a multibillion-dollar deal and possibly evolving into an organizing body in college sports.All that will happen while breaking in a new leader.Lt. Gen. Richard Clark was hired last week to become the CFP’s second executive director, replacing the retiring Bill Hancock. Clark, who is currently the superintendent of the Air Force Academy, officially starts his new job in June. He was a former Air Force football player and has had a 38-year military career.“The No. 1 thing that I heard from the (search) committee was that they needed leadership, like they’ve gotten from Mr. Hancock over the years,” Clark said Monday during a 30-minute teleconference. “They want to continue that and they want me to not just be a leader in the day-to-day operations, but a strategic leader that not only helps develop the vision and where college footbal...

Motorcyclist suffers life-threatening injuries from collision in Scarborough

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

A motorcyclist is suffering life-threatening injuries due to a collision with a vehicle in Scarborough on Monday afternoon.Police received a call at approximately 1:34 p.m. of reports of a collision involving a Mercedes AMG and a motorcycle in the Finch East and Warden avenues area.The driver of the motorcycle, a male who is 50 to 60 years of age, was transported to hospital and remains suffering life-threatening injuries. Westbound Finch Avenue is closed from Warden Avenue while police investigate and there are delays in the area.

Columbia will set up fund for victims of doctor convicted of sex crimes, notify 6,500 patients

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University and a university-affiliated hospital announced Monday that they will notify 6,500 former patients of disgraced gynecologist Robert Hadden of federal sex crimes he was convicted of earlier this year.Under the plan announced by Columbia and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, patients who were abused by Hadden over his decadeslong career will be given the opportunity to apply for compensation from a $100 million settlement fund.Victims can also sue under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, but the one-year window to file lawsuits closes after Nov. 23.Hadden was convicted in January of four counts of enticing victims to cross state lines so he could sexually abuse them. He was sentenced in July to 20 years in prison.Hadden 65, pleaded guilty earlier to state charges, admitting that he had sexually abused patients.Federal prosecutors said Hadden sexually abused patients from 1993 through at least 2012 while he was working at the Irving Medica...

Prince’s puffy ‘Purple Rain’ shirt and other pieces from late singer’s wardrobe go up for auction

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Fans of Prince, who was known nearly as much for his extravagant wardrobe as for his chart-topping hits, will have a chance to bid on some of the late musician’s sartorial splendor in an online auction this week.The collection, including more than 200 lots up for sale, was assembled by a French collector who initially hoped to open a museum celebrating the musician but later scrapped the plan, according to RR Auction of Boston, which is overseeing the sale. The collector had reached out to individuals who worked closely with Prince to gather the items, believing that the trendsetting artist, who died in 2016, was not only a musical virtuoso but also a fashion icon, according to the auction house.One of the highlights of the auction is a white ruffled shirt worn by Prince during his 1985 American Music Awards performance of the song “Purple Rain.”The auction house estimated its value at $15,000.The auction traces Prince’s evolution in music and fashion from his “P...

TSA expects all-time record number of passengers Thanksgiving weekend

Published Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:00:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Locals planning to fly for the Thanksgiving holiday will have plenty of company, according to the Transportation Security Administration.The agency expects to set a record for screening passengers on Thanksgiving weekend, specifically Sunday, Nov. 26, as 2.9 million people are predicted to pass through the nation's airports. Historically, the three busiest travel days are the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. AAA predicts busiest Thanksgiving travel season in years: Here’s when NOT to drive As a result, the TSA is projected to screen:2.6 million passengers on Tuesday, Nov. 212.7 million passengers on Wednesday, Nov. 222.9 million passengers on Sunday, Nov, 26Thanksgiving weekend travel should surpass the current record for the heaviest passenger screening volume in TSA history, set on Friday, June 30. Possible government shutdown sets up nightmare scenario for Thanksgiving travel Starting Friday, Nov. 17, through the holiday period ending ...