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Leslie Van Houten, follower of cult leader Charles Manson, released from California prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Van Houten “was released to parole supervision.”Her release comes days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole.Van Houten, now in her 70s, received a life sentence for helping Manson’s followers carry out the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.She was released from prison in the early morning hours and driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

Broward Sheriff’s deputy arrested for DUI after off-duty incident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

Kimberly Ann Walker, a 55-year-old Broward Sheriff’s Deputy, was arrested last Friday night for driving under the influence while off duty.According to the responding deputy, Walker was involved in a minor car crash after allegedly reversing her vehicle into another car at a red light in Tamarac. Following the incident, Walker reportedly failed a sobriety test and was subsequently charged with DUI.While the investigation is ongoing, Walker has been placed on administrative assignment until the outcome is determined.

Pennsylvania inmate escaped through prison roof and shimmied down a rope of sheets, court documents say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

(CNN) — Pennsylvania inmate Michael Burham allegedly climbed workout equipment to leave through a roof and shimmied down a rope of sheets, court documents with new details on the day he escaped prison reveal.Surveillance footage shows Burham and other prisoners walking in and out of his jail cell, says the criminal complaint filed by the City of Warren on Friday.The search continued Tuesday for Burham, whom authorities described as “dangerous” and with survivalist skills and military experience. They said he escaped Warren County Prison last Thursday while held on arson and burglary charges and was a suspect in a homicide.Warren police said Burham “was also associated with the prior carjacking and kidnapping of a local couple while trying to escape capture.”Burham was thought to have supplies for “a prolonged stay in the area,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Monday.More than 150 officers have been involved in the search, Bivens said.‘Observed standing on a pul...

Father and son from Miami indicted for drug and firearms conspiracy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

Ahmed Subni Wadi, 49, and his son Ramzi Ahmed Wadi, 21, both residents of Miami, have been formally charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and dealing firearms without a license.The indictment, along with the underlying criminal complaint affidavit, reveals that in November 2022, Ahmed Wadi allegedly sold a firearm with an obliterated serial number and multiple grams of oxycodone to an individual in the parking lot of a mall. During the transaction, Ahmed Wadi’s bodyguard, acting as his protector, informed the purchaser of his armed presence.According to the charging documents, on April 7, Ahmed Wadi sold two semi-automatic firearms and multiple grams of oxycodone laced with fentanyl to an individual at the business where both defendants were employed. During this encounter, Ahmed Wadi offered to sell the buyer a machine gun and a silencer. Later that month, Ramzi Wadi allegedly completed the sale on behalf of his father, providing the buy...

No Champagne for Swedes at NATO yet, PM says 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

VILNIUS — The Champagne will have to wait. Sweden won a major breakthrough on its path to NATO membership this week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to send Stockholm’s application for parliamentary ratification in Ankara. But in the Lithuanian capital, where NATO leaders are gathered for a two-day summit, the Swedish delegation is holding off on full-scale celebrations.  “We thought the Champagne will have to wait until the ratifications are there,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told POLITICO in an interview on Tuesday of his team’s commemoration of the milestone. “So yesterday we gathered in a conference room and had a beer together.” If the ratification happens, the Swedish leader said, “perhaps we’ll have Champagne.” Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022 together with Finland in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But despite introducing legal changes to address Turkish concerns about Kurdish groups, Stockholm’s...

A surging river floods Vermont’s capital as crews rescue more than 100 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — A storm that dumped up to two months of rain in two days in Vermont and other parts of the Northeast brought more flooding Tuesday to communities marooned by water, including the state capital, where officials kept watch on a dam just upstream.There were signs of hope in some areas where flood waters had begun to recede and officials began assessing the damage and the scope of the clean-up ahead.The flooding has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, officials said, with more to come: If water pours over the dam on the Winooski River that flows through Montpelier, it could surge through downtown blocks where the floods were already waist-high.City officials said Tuesday afternoon, however, they had not seen any significant changes in the water levels at the dam, but would continue to monitor it.“Floodwaters continue to rise in some places, like our capital city, and have surpassed the levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene,” Vermont Gov. Phil Scot...

Elizabeth Holmes could be released from prison two years earlier than expected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

(CNN) — Disgraced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes could be out of prison nearly two years earlier than expected, according to the projected release date posted by the Bureau of Prisons.Holmes reported to a Texas prison camp in late May after being sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison at the end of last year. The Bureau of Prisons online database now reports, however, that Holmes’ expected release date is December 29, 2032 – which would take roughly two years off of her full sentence.The discrepancy appears to be due to how the Bureau of Prisons calculates its estimated release date.A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons told CNN that the agency cannot comment on the conditions of any individual inmate, but said that inmates can earn Good Conduct Time (or GCT) that is calculated into their projected release date. Qualified inmates are currently eligible for up to 54 days of GCT time for each year of the sentence imposed by the court.Moreove...

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after serving 53 years of a life sentence for 2 murders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after serving 53 years of a life sentence for 2 murders.

Alex Rodriguez says Angels should trade Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

Alex Rodriguez recommends the Angels take a big swing — by trading Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.The former Yankees slugger believes moving both superstars would allow the Angels, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, to win a World Series within five years.“You try to get five or six players, load up with first rounders,” Rodriguez said during Fox Sports’ coverage of the All-Star festivities. “The next thing that you have to do is bring in a guy like [general manager] Theo Epstein, give him ownership, and let him run the shop. … I don’t think you have the time, but that would be the move.”The bold suggestion caught the attention of his fellow Fox Sports panelists, including ex-Yankees teammate Derek Jeter.“So the first move is to trade Ohtani, and then Trout, then you sell the team, and then move you out of Anaheim, in that order,” Jeter replied, earning a laugh. “But everything you say makes sense. No one k...

Jury decides 2014 document found in Aretha Franklin’s couch is a valid will

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:31 GMT

By ED WHITE (Associated Press)PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other.It’s a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin whose lawyers had argued that papers dated 2014 should override a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in suburban Detroit.The jury deliberated less than an hour after a brief trial that started Monday. After the verdict was read, Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren stepped forward from the first row to hug Kecalf and Edward.“I’m very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be adhered to,” Kecalf Franklin said. “We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”Aretha Franklin did not leave behind a...