Sri Lankan parties agree to form all-party govt after President's resignation; New Delhi says, India stands with people of Sri Lanka

Jul 11, 2022 ,  8:24AM @DDIndialive Sri Lanka's main opposition parties have agreed to form an all-party interim government after the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday. Opposition parties held talks to seek ways to steer the country forward in the current unprecedented economic crisis after Rajapaksa's resignation. Wimal Weerawansa of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party's breakaway group said that this will be a government where all parties are represented. President Rajapaksa informed Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Saturday that he will resign on Wednesday after the country's opposition parties demanded his resignation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also offered to resign. The protesters who have occupied the key administration buildings since Saturday's mass protests said they would not leave until Rajapaksa resigns.   The cash-starved island nation witnessed a tumultuous day on Saturday when protesters broke into Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo. Protesters did not spare Prime Minister Wickremesinghe despite his offer to resign and set on fire his private residence in an affluent neighborhood in the capital. Meanwhile, India has extended unprecedented support of over 3.8 billion US dollars this year itself for ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka. In response to media queries on the situation in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, India will continue to follow closely the recent developments in Sri Lanka. He said, India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values.  Mr Bagchi said, India is Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour and the two countries share deep civilizational bonds. He said, India is aware of the many challenges that Sri Lanka and its people have been facing, and we have stood with the Sri Lankan people as they have tried to overcome this difficult period.

Driver crashes into Oregon homeless camp, killing 4

A driver crashed their car into a homeless encampment in Salem, Oregon, killing four people and injuring three more, including the driver

ByThe Associated Press

28 March 2022, 05:40

• 3 min read

SALEM, Ore. -- A driver crashed their car into a homeless encampment in Salem in the middle of the night, killing four people and injuring three more, including the driver, the Salem Police Department said Sunday.

No arrests have been made, but police said alcohol may have been a contributing factor.

Nathan Rose tells the Salem Statesman Journal that he and his girlfriend were in their tent when they heard two loud thuds. The car just missed their tent, Rose said.

Rose said he saw some of his friends pinned under the car and called 911. He said he helped pull one person from under the car but witnesses were unable to help the others.

“From there, it was just chaos,” Rose told the newspaper.

Police said in a statement Sunday afternoon that the driver was the only occupant of the two-door sports coupe.

Officials have not released the names of anyone involved or the conditions of those who remain hospitalized.

The crash happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday near a new men’s shelter, which has beds for about 300 people, and a program that offers emergency housing assistance and other services for the homeless.

The camp is a small triangle of trees and grass in the area of Front Street and Division Street Northeast, not far from the Willamette River.

Two people who were at the encampment died at the scene. Four others were taken to Salem Health with with life-threatening injuries and two died at the hospital. The driver was also taken to the hospital.

Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, said homeless people spend much of their day trying to find a safe place to sleep and rest, “but events like this remind us that there is no safe space.”

“No one deserves to have to live in unsheltered conditions and they damn sure do not deserve to die in them,” Jones said. “Tragedies like this will continue until this nation makes a serious commitment to the idea that housing is a human right, and that everyone deserves a warm, safe and dry place where they can live with dignity.”

More than 1,000 people sleep outside in the Salem area on any given night, the newspaper reported. The city has a population of over 175,000, according to the 2020 U.S. census.

Mike Wade came to the camp after hearing one of his close friends had died. He helped others in the camp salvage their belongings and prayed for the victims.

“It gets me weaker every day hearing about us die one by one,” Wade said. “My friends are dead and I don’t know what to say.”

3 sentenced to prison in slayings of Ohio man, teen girl

Two men have been sentenced to life in prison and a third to a shorter term in the grisly deaths of an Ohio man and his teenage daughter almost three years ago

ByThe Associated Press

28 March 2022, 03:24

• 3 min read

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two men have been sentenced to life in prison and a third to a shorter term in the grisly deaths of an Ohio man and his teenage daughter more than three years ago.

The bodies of 39-year-old Paul Bradley and 14-year-old Paris Bradley were found in October 2018 in a burning car in East Cleveland. Cuyahoga County prosecutors said three men had broken into family home, tied up and beat the man while demanding money, then kidnapped the pair for five hours, killing the girl and setting fire to the car.

The county medical examiner said the girl died of a gunshot to the head and the man from a combination of blunt force trauma and smoke inhalation from the fire. Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Paul called the slayings the result of “a barbarism that I cannot explain.”

Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly Ann Gallagher on Thursday sentenced Ronald Newberry and Kodii Gibson, who were each convicted of aggravated murder and other charges in separate trials, to life terms, Cleveland.com reported.

Gallagher ordered Newberry, 27, to spend 65 years behind bars until he is eligible for parole. Gibson, 25, must serve 50 years before being eligible for parole. Attorneys for both men vowed appeals.

Newberry declined to speak at the hearing. Gibson apologized to the Bradleys and to “the community,” saying he didn't intend for anyone to die that night and wished he could have stopped that from happening.

“Like a tidal wave, my choices have rippled through the Bradley’s homes and my own,” he said, reading from a written statement. “For that, I’ll always be sorry.”

Demarcus Sheeley, who pleaded guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped aggravated murder, kidnapping and other counts. Sheeley, 28, will be credited for nearly three years and will be eligible for parole after a dozen years in prison.

Paul Bradley’s relatives described him as a devoted father who was adored by his 14 children and was the backbone of the family. Paris, a high school freshman, was a joyful and outgoing honors student who ran track and had blossomed into a mature young woman, they said.

Prosecutors originally announced plans to seek the death penalty, but a jury rejected that in Gibson's case and recommended a life term with parole possible after 30 years for each killing. Prosecutors then dismissed capital charges against the other two defendants.

Boston parking garage under construction collapses; 1 killed

Boston parking garage being demolished collapses; 1 killed

Officials say a portion of a downtown Boston parking garage that was being demolished has collapsed, killing a construction worker

ByThe Associated Press

27 March 2022, 07:49

• 2 min read

BOSTON -- A portion of a downtown Boston parking garage that was being demolished collapsed Saturday evening, killing a construction worker, officials said.

Boston Emergency Medical Services confirmed one person was killed and a second person was transported to an area hospital, WCVB-TV reported.

Part of the Government Center garage came down after a concrete slab on the ninth floor collapsed, construction firm John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement.

Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey told reporters that a worker who was completing demolition work in a construction vehicle fell over the side of the garage when the structure collapsed, falling a significant height.

The worker was found under a pile of rubble and pronounced dead at the scene by authorities, Dempsey said.

“This is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the worker,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

The body has not been immediately recovered because Dempsey said firefighters are waiting until the Boston Inspection Services department determines the area can be safely entered.

“We're not going to put anybody in there until it's safe to do so,” Dempsey told reporters.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden told WCVB-TV that the person who died was a young man, but he did not identify him.

“Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the loved ones of the worker who lost his life,” John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement. “JMA remains committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all our employees and trade partners. We would like to thank the Boston Police Department and EMS for their swift response.”

Man convicted in death of 6-year-old girl in New Mexico

A 24-year-old man has been convicted in the 2018 rape and strangulation killing of a 6-year-old girl who lived with her mother in a New Mexico home shared with at last seven other people

ByThe Associated Press

27 March 2022, 04:22

• 1 min read

LOS LUNAS, N.M. -- A 24-year-old man has been convicted in the 2018 rape and strangulation killing of a 6-year-old girl who lived with her mother in a New Mexico home shared with at last seven other people.

Six hours of jury deliberations ended Friday evening with the conviction of Leland Hust for criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13 and child abuse resulting in death.

Another jury acquitted Hust in 2021 of first-degree murder in the death of Ariana Jade Romero but deadlocked on the other two charges.

Hust faces mandatory sentences of 30 years and 18 years on the two counts. A sentencing date was not immediately set.

The trial was moved from Sandoval County to Valencia County because of concerns that news coverage of the case could bias the jury against Hust.

Wildfire southwest of Boulder forces 1,200 evacuations

Colorado wildfire forces evacuation orders for 19,000 people

Emergency officials say 19,400 Colorado residents are being ordered to evacuate Saturday due to a fast-moving wildfire in the area of a destructive 2021 blaze

ByThe Associated Press

27 March 2022, 07:46

• 2 min read

The Associated Press

Smoke billows from a wildfire Saturday, March 26, 2022 in Marshall, Colo. a few miles s...

BOULDER, Colo. -- Authorities issued an evacuation order for 19,400 people Saturday near a fast-moving Colorado wildfire in rolling hills south of the college town of Boulder, not far from the site of a destructive 2021 blaze that leveled more than 1,000 homes.

The wildfire was fueled by wind earlier in the day and had grown to 122 acres (49 hectares) with no containment, Boulder Fire-Rescue spokesperson Marya Washburn said. The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said an overnight shelter was opened after evacuation orders covered 8,000 homes and 7,000 structures. No structures had been damaged.

Winds and temperatures have died down, Washburn said. Officials expect to be dealing with the fire for several days due to heavy fuels, said Boulder Fire-Rescue Wildland Division Chief Brian Oliver.

The fire is in an area where a blaze destroyed 1,000 homes last year in unincorporated Boulder County and suburban Superior and Louisville. Superior town officials told residents in an email that there were no immediate concerns for the community.

The 2021 blaze burned Alicia Miller's home, where she could see smoke from Saturday's fire rising in the background. She posted a photo on Twitter and referenced climate change, which has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.

Miller said her neighbors helped her escape along with her husband, Craig, their three adult sons and two dogs, Ginger and Chloe. She said the hardest losses from the blaze were things they didn't look at much, like baby shoes, family pictures and letters from her grandmother.

“I feel exhausted by all of this, and I just feel like enough as far as these fires and disasters," she said. She pointed to a recent Texas wildfire that left a deputy dead and homes destroyed. “ ... So I’m standing there and it’s just kind of a repeat.”

Saturday's fire started around 2 p.m. and burned protected wildland near the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder police said. Authorities have called it the NCAR fire and its cause is not yet known, said Washburn.

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Associated Press photographer Damian Dovarganes contributed to this report.

Did teen's big size factor in Florida amusement ride death?

A rising middle school football player in Missouri, only 14 but already 6 feet, 5 inches tall and well over 300 pounds, Tyre Sampson fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press

27 March 2022, 01:07

• 4 min read

The Associated Press

The Wheel and Orlando Free Fall ride at ICON Park is shown on Friday, March 25, 2022 i...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A rising middle school football player in Missouri, only 14 but already 6 feet, 5 inches tall and well over 300 pounds, Tyre Sampson fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride. Lawyers for his family want to know if negligence about his size, or other factors, played a role.

“This young man, he was athletic and he was big. He had no way of knowing,” said Bob Hilliard, a Texas attorney who represents Tyre's mother, Nekia Dodd, in an interview Saturday. “This is going to be an issue of a lack of supervision and lack of training. A straight-up negligence case."

Investigators on Saturday continued to examine what happened Thursday night when Sampson dropped out of his seat from a 430-foot, free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district not far from Disney World.

The ride takes patrons up to that height, tilts so they face the ground for a moment or two, and then plummets toward the ground at speeds of 75 mph (about 121 kph) or more.

The well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is working with Hilliard and represents Tyre's father, Yarnell Sampson, said the family is “shocked and heartbroken at the loss of their son.”

“This young man was the kind of son everyone hopes for — an honor roll student, an aspiring athlete, and a kind-hearted person who cared about others,” Crump said in a statement Saturday.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates amusement rides in Florida at all but the major theme parks, declined comment Saturday other than to say the investigation is ongoing.

The Icon Park attraction said in a statement it is fully cooperating with investigators and that the Orlando FreeFall ride will be closed indefinitely. It opened late last year on International Drive, a major tourist mecca.

“We are heartbroken with the incident that took the life of one of our guests. We extend our condolences and deepest sympathy to his family and friends," said a statement from the SlingShot Group, which operates the ride.

Tyre was a giant for his age, already the size of an NFL offensive lineman. His family says he aspired to play pro football, like many kids with athletic ability who see a way to buy their mother a house and lift everyone in the family to a new level.

“That was his dream, and he was on his way,” Wendy Wooten, his stepmother, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He had so many scouts looking at him. He was going to be a great football player.”

Tyre was part of a group called the St. Louis Bad Boyz football club who were in Orlando for a weeklong training camp, the Post-Dispatch reported. The group had chaperones and, by all accounts, were doing what millions do every year during spring break in Orlando: enjoying the theme parks and rides.

He was a student at the City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis. The school sent a letter to parents Friday saying counseling would be available for students on Monday.

“Tyre has been a City Garden student for many years,” the school said in a statement from its principal and CEO. “We will miss him tremendously and our hearts go out to his family and friends during this extremely difficult time.”

No criminal charges have been filed but a negligence or wrongful death lawsuit, or both, seem likely. Crump said boy's parents “intend to get answers for Tyre's grieving family.”

“A fun theme park visit with his football team should not have ended in tragedy,” Crump said.

Ex-Sen. Kaneaster Hodges, who served just over a year, dies

Former Arkansas U.S. Sen. Kaneaster Hodges Jr. has died at age 83

ByThe Associated Press

26 March 2022, 23:30

• 1 min read

NEWPORT, Ark. -- Former Arkansas U.S. Sen. Kaneaster Hodges Jr., who served just more than one year in office in the 1970s, has died.

Hodges died of natural causes Wednesday, according to Jackson Funeral Home in his hometown of Newport. He was 83.

Hodges, a Democrat, served in office from December 1977 until January 1979 after being appointed by then-Gov. David Pryor to fill out the expired term of Sen. John McClellan, who died in office. Hodges, who was also an ordained Methodist minister, did not seek election in 1978 to a full term in the Senate, a race won by Pryor.

Pryor and McClellan were also Democrats. Hodges worked for McClellan's reelection campaign in 1972 and for Pryor's gubernatorial campaign in 1974.

After leaving office, Hodges returned to Newport to resume his career as a lawyer and served on several boards and commissions, including as a trustee for Arkansas College — now Lyon College — and the University of Arkansas, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

The funeral home said services will be Tuesday afternoon in Newport.

Ex-UAW official pleads guilty to embezzling $2.2M from union

A former official at a suburban Detroit branch of the United Auto Workers has pleaded guilty to charges that he embezzled more than $2 million in union money

ByThe Associated Press

26 March 2022, 23:29

• 2 min read

DETROIT -- A former official at a suburban Detroit branch of the United Auto Workers has pleaded guilty to charges that he embezzled more than $2 million in union money.

Timothy Edmunds, 54, pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of embezzling union funds and money laundering during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Detroit, federal prosecutors said. He is the 17th defendant convicted in an ongoing criminal investigation into corruption within the UAW, prosecutors said.

From 2011 to 2021, Edmunds was secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 412, which represents about 2,600 people who work for Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, at factories in the Detroit area.

Edmunds “systematically drained” the local’s bank accounts of about $2.2 million by using the labor group’s credit cards for personal purchases, cashing local checks and transferring money into his accounts, according to the criminal case, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said he gambled with the money and spent more on guns, cars and child-support payments.

After Edmunds was charged in a November indictment, the UAW said in a statement that its auditors discovered his improper expenditures and turned their findings over to federal authorities.

Louisiana court: Protest leader can be sued for cop's injury

Louisiana's Supreme Court says a police officer injured when violence broke out over the police killing of a Black man in Baton Rouge in 2016 has grounds to pursue a lawsuit against a protest organizer

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press

26 March 2022, 00:43

• 3 min read

The Associated Press

FILE - In this March 26, 2016, file photo, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson ch...

NEW ORLEANS -- A Louisiana police officer injured when violence broke out over the police killing of a Black man in Baton Rouge in 2016 has grounds to pursue a lawsuit against a protest organizer, Louisiana's Supreme Court said Friday.

The 6-1 opinion was not a ruling in a case, but an answer to questions posed by a federal appeals court considering whether an officer identified as John Doe, can continue his federal lawsuit against Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.

The case has freedom-of-speech implications, involving questions of who is liable for damages that occur during activities protected by the First Amendment. But the questions before Louisiana's highest court involved whether state law could be read to place a duty on a protest organizer “not to negligently precipitate” a crime. The majority said it can. And it also said state law does not bar police officers from collecting damages under such circumstances.

The officer suffered serious head and facial injuries when someone threw a hard object at him as protesters blocked a highway in 2016. The protest arose from the police shooting death of a Black man, Alton Sterling.

“Because it is alleged that Mckesson, with knowledge that such protests could turn violent, staged a protest in direct contravention of law, thereby provoking the police to respond, a person can easily associate the injury to the police officer with the alleged conduct,” Justice William Crain wrote in a concurring opinion.

The case had been through a long federal court path before the state Supreme Court was asked to weigh in. A federal district judge threw out the officer's original lawsuit. It was revived by a divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Mckesson then went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although the case involves First Amendment issues, the U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a constitutional ruling in November, saying matters of state law need to be settled first. That led to the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit sending the state Supreme Court the questions that were answered Friday.

Justice Piper Griffin was the lone dissenter. Finding that Mckesson had a legal duty in the case “will have a chilling effect on political protests in general as nothing prevents a bad actor from attending an otherwise peaceful protest and committing acts of violence.”

“Courts would see increased litigation from all sides of the political spectrum and the flow of political speech could hinge on which viewpoints had patrons with deeper pockets,” Griffin said.

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This story corrects the spelling of Mckesson's last name.