US updates

A middle school in Tualatin, Oregon , would not comment on whether a student who was seen beating up a smaller girl in a school hallway earlier this month is transgender. Hazelbrook Middle School spokesperson Traci Rose told The Oregonian that federal law prohibited the school from discussing a student's gender identity. Video footage of the incident showed a larger student wearing girl's clothes dragging a smaller girl classmate by her backpack in the hallway before pulling the victim's hair and hitting her several times. The attack left the victim in tears, and can be heard in the video saying, "I can't breathe." It is unclear what prompted the beating. CALIFORNIA BECOMES FIRST US STATE TO RECOGNIZE ‘TRANSGENDER HISTORY MONTH’ The identities of the two students have not been publicly released, but the video led to public outrage after it was shared online. Some members of the public angered by the incident have alleged that the attacker is transgender, ...

A 28-year-old former event planner, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August , has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for the unprovoked shoving of an 87-year-old Broadway voice coach onto a Manhattan sidewalk last year.  Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin on Friday added six months to the eight years already agreed upon in  Lauren Pazienza’s plea deal, saying she didn’t believe Pazienza had taken responsibility for her actions.  Pazienza left Barbara Maier Gustern bleeding on a Chelsea sidewalk soon after the woman cracked her head March 10, 2022, as a result of Pazienza's shove. She suffered a "massive hemorrhage" on the left side of her brain and died after five days in a hospital.  The defendant could have faced 25 years in prison if she hadn’t taken the plea deal and had been found guilty by a jury. 2ND NEW HAMPSHIRE MAN CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN 2022 DEATH OF 2-YEAR-OLD BOY EXPOSED TO FENTANYL   As part of a ple...

The police chief who led a highly criticized raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended, the mayor confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday. Marion Mayor Dave Mayfield in a text said he suspended Chief Gideon Cody on Thursday. He declined to discuss his decision further and did not say whether Cody was still being paid. Voice messages and emails from the AP seeking comment from Cody's lawyers were not immediately returned Saturday. The Aug. 11 searches of the Marion County Record’s office and the homes of its publisher and a City Council member have been sharply criticized, putting Marion at the center of a debate over the press protections offered by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. KANSAS REPORTER ACCUSED OF BREAKING LAW BEFORE CONTROVERSIAL MARION COUNTY NEWSPAPER RAID: DOCUMENTS Cody's suspension is a reversal for the mayor, who previously said he would wait for results from a state police investigation before taking action. Vice-Mayor Rut...

These mugshots were taken for arrests made throughout the U.S. the week of Sept. 24-30, 2023. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/mugshots-week-sept-24-30-2023

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Saturday blocked two portions of North Carolina's new abortion law from taking effect while a lawsuit continues. But nearly all of the restrictions approved by the legislature this year, including a near-ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy , aren't being specifically challenged and remain intact. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an order halting enforcement of a provision to require surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks — those for cases of rape and incest, for example — be performed only in hospitals, not abortion clinics. That limitation would have otherwise taken effect on Sunday. HOUSE PASSES 1-YEAR AFRICA AIDS RELIEF EXTENSION WITH SAFEGUARD GOP REP SAYS STOPS BIDEN ABORTION 'HIJACKING' And in the same preliminary injunction, Eagles extended beyond her temporary decision in June an order preventing enforcement of a rule that doctors must document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescrib...

A Missouri high school teacher was placed on leave after district officials found out she had an OnlyFans account. Brianna Coppage, 28, is an English teacher at St. Clair High School and told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she was placed on leave after an interview with two administrators. Coppage said it didn't come as a surprise, as people in the area were beginning to find out about her OnlyFans page. "It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered," Coppage said. "Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming." NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DENIES PREVALENCE OF GENDER 'INDOCTRINATION' IN SCHOOLS: 'NEVER HAPPENED' The English teacher said she joined the website over the summer as a way to supplement her teaching income. According to the report. Coppage made about $42,000 last year and has brought ...

A military helicopter crashed Friday into high-voltage transmission lines in Washington state, officials said.  Grant PUD, a public utility provider, said power lines were down in the Columbia River and across State Route 243, which is closed.  The story is breaking. Please check back for updates.  source https://www.foxnews.com/us/military-helicopter-crashes-into-power-lines-washington-state-utility-provider-says

A New Jersey man deliberately drove his SUV into a home and the offices of a municipal police department last week, authorities announced Friday. No one was injured in the crashes, both of which took place on Sept. 20, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. However, at least one officer narrowly escaped being struck when John Hargreaves, 34, of Belvidere, drove into the Independence Township police headquarters , causing significant damage. HOUSE EXPLOSION IN NEW JERSEY LEAVES 5 VICTIMS HOSPITALIZED Hargreaves' vehicle came to rest in the department's squad room. As he got out of the vehicle, prosecutors said Hargreaves put his hands in the air and appeared to be celebrating while loudly playing the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle" on his car stereo as officers took him into custody. That crash happened just minutes after Hargreaves had driven into the garage door of a home in Liberty Township, an act prosecutors said was ...

The former school's superintendent of Loudoun County, Virginia, was found guilty Friday for the retaliatory firing of a special education school teacher, a misdemeanor charge related to a larger scandal that engulfed the district over how it handled a pair of sexual assaults.  Scott Ziegler was found not guilty of a lesser charge, punishing an employee for attending court. He faces up to a year in jail and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 4.  "Justice has finally been served in Loudoun County," Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement. "Nearly two years ago, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun County School Board were thrown into the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.  FLORIDA TEACHER, DISNEY EMPLOYEES AMONG 219 ARRESTED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING OPERATION: AUTHORITIES "One of the casualties of their neglect and mismanagement led to the retaliatory firing of a dedicated and caring school teacher," he added. "Today...

A corrections officer with the Bernalillo County jail is now being held there on allegations he brought drugs into the facility, authorities said Friday. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that 19-year-old Grant Haneckow was arrested and booked into the county Metropolitan Detention Center on Thursday. FORMER NEW MEXICO DEPUTY FACES FEDERAL CHARGES IN ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE He has been charged with bringing contraband into a place of imprisonment and trafficking other controlled substances. According to the Sheriff's Office, Haneckow was discovered to be carrying 40 sealed Suboxone strips on Wednesday. Suboxone is a prescription medicine used to treat opioid addiction . PA STATE TROOPER ACCUSED OF ABUSING POSITION TO FORCIBLY COMMIT EX-GIRLFRIEND TO PSYCH WARD Joseph Trujeque, president of the union representing Metropolitan Detention Center corrections officers, said the union would likely not provide Haneckow with an attorney because it...

A Missouri high school teacher says she has been placed on leave after officials discovered that she was performing on a pornography website to supplement her salary. Brianna Coppage, 28, who taught English at St. Clair High School, says her teaching days are probably over, but she acknowledged she knew the risks. Coppage told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she was put on leave on Wednesday after being interviewed by two administrators. Her access to school email and other software was suspended while the district investigates, she said. SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHER FIRED AFTER SCHOOL DISTRICT DISCOVERED ONLYFANS ACCOUNT DENIES 'EGREGIOUS' CONDUCT "It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered," Coppage said in an interview. "Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming." Superintendent Kyle Kruse said in a statement that ...

A small jet that crashed into a building in Connecticut in 2021, killing four people, was going slower than usual as it took off because the pilot had left a parking brake on, according to a report released Thursday. The failure to release the brake was the probable cause of the accident, according to the report from the National Transportation Safety Board, which also said a lack of equipment on the jet to notify the pilots of such a problem contributed to the crash. The twin-engine Cessna 560XL was to have flown from Robertson Airport in Plainville to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, on Sept. 2, 2021. But it crashed into a manufacturing building shortly after takeoff and burst into flames. A husband and wife who were both doctors, Courtney Haviland, 33, and William Shrauner, 32, of Boston, were killed along with the two pilots, William O’Leary, 55, of Bristol, and Mark Morrow, 57, of Danbury. Four people on the ground were injured, including one who was se...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged former executives for telecommunications firm Pareteum with accounting and disclosure fraud, according to a statement. The SEC said it charged Pareteum's former chief financial officer, Edward O’Donnell, and its former chief commercial officer, Victor Bozzo, for engaging in fraudulent revenue recognition practices . Pareteum filed for Chapter 11 protection in May 2022. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-pareteum-executives-charged-accounting-disclosure-fraud-sec

A Texas death row inmate with a long history of mental illness, and who tried to call Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy as trial witnesses, is not competent to be executed, a federal judge ruled. Scott Panetti, 65, who has been on death row for nearly 30 years for fatally shooting his in-laws in front of his wife and young children, has contended that Texas wants to execute him to cover up incest, corruption, sexual abuse and drug trafficking he has uncovered. He has also claimed the devil has "blinded" Texas and is using the state to kill him to stop him from preaching and "saving souls." In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin said Panetti’s well-documented mental illness and disorganized thought prevent him from understanding the reason for his execution. TEXAS DEATH ROW PRISONER WHOSE LAWYERS SAY IS DELUSIONAL SCHEDULED FOR DEC. 3 EXECUTION DATE The U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually d...

A California man has pleaded guilty to arranging hundreds of sham marriages in an effort to circumvent immigration laws, federal prosecutors said. Marcialito Biol Benitez, a 49-year-old Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 10. A lawyer for Benitez said his client was declining to comment . MAJOR CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS DECRY NEWSOM’S NEW GUN CONTROL LAWS AS POINTLESS, INEFFECTIVE In a statement, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said Benitez operated a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens. Federal prosecutors alleged the agency charged fees between $20,000 to $35,000 to submit false paperwork substantiating the sham marriages. Operated out of an office in Los Angeles, prosecutors alleged that Benitez had his staff recruit...

A Polk County, Florida, human trafficking operation earlier this month led to the arrests of 219 people, including people in the country illegally, a high school teacher, and three Disney employees, according to authorities. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the operation Thursday, saying out of 119 prostitutes who were arrested during the operation that began last week, 21 were possible victims of human trafficking. Two suspects were charged with human trafficking, and both were in the U.S. illegally. FORMER JAN. 6 PROSECUTOR ACCUSED OF STABBING DRIVER IN TAMPA ROAD RAGE FIT Freddy Escalona, 30, and Maria Guzman, 36, were charged with human trafficking and deriving proceeds from prostitution. Escalona, police said, lent money to a victim to fix her vehicle, and after not being to pay him back, he allegedly forced her into prostitution. When Escalona drove the victim to the undercover location, he was taken into custody and told detectives he had "sev...

A milling company has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges that employees at a Wisconsin corn plant falsified records in the years leading up to a fatal corn dust explosion. The plea deal calls for Didion Milling Inc. to pay a $1 million fine and $10.25 million to the estates of the five workers who were killed in the blast at the company's Cambria mill in May 2017, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The company also has agreed to a five-year "organizational probation" and must allow federal inspectors to visit the mill without advance notice up to twice a year. HOUSE EXPLOSION IN NEW JERSEY LEAVES 5 VICTIMS HOSPITALIZED A federal grand jury indicted Didion last year on nine counts , including falsifying records, fraud and conspiracy. According to court documents, Didion shift employees and supervisors knowingly falsified logbooks inspectors use to determine whether the plant was handling corn dust safely and complying with dust-cleaning rules from 2015 until...

A company focused on developing virtual reality (VR) therapy treatments will turn to artificial intelligence (AI) to create immersive environments that could revolutionize therapy treatment, especially for the elderly and those with mobility issues. "We want to bring the world to residents who otherwise can't experience the world," MyndVR’s Chief Operating Officer Dave Rawlins told Fox News Digital.  "A lot of what we do is 360 content, provide experiences and applications, modules that give a resident the opportunity to potentially get out of the four walls of the facility, whether that be in travel or Broadway shows or experiencing things that they may have experienced in their earlier life," Rawlins explained.  Launched in 2016, MyndVR developed lightweight VR headsets that allow users to engage in gamified environments that help them relax and distract them from a therapy session or boost their moods by leaving their homes to do things they are unable t...

An Illinois man was sentenced Wednesday for carjacking a woman's car while her two young children were sitting inside the vehicle. Kewan Tillman, 20, will spend 10 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal carjacking and firearm charges. On the afternoon of July 27, 2022, Tillman approached the woman with a pistol while she was entering her Kia Optima with her two young children inside, at a Thorntons gas station in Posen, Illinois. The 20-year-old pointed the gun at the mother and demanded her keys, prosecutors said.  In a press release, Illinois prosecutors said Tillman approached the unidentified victim with a loaded handgun. After handing over her keys, the victim managed to quickly remove her two children from the back of her car . Authorities say that Tillman sped off, but quickly lost control of the vehicle. He then got out and ran back toward the gas station, where he unsuccessfully attempted to force his way into an occupied ...

A stolen Buddha statue worth $1.5 million stolen from a Los Angeles art gallery has been recovered, police announced Wednesday. The Los Angeles Police Department announced Justin Livick, 44, was arrested Saturday and charged under suspicion of receiving stolen property from the Barakat Gallery, according to FOX 11 . It's still unclear who stole the statue during the early morning hours of Sept. 18 from the Barakat Gallery. Jail records indicate Livick was booked into jail Saturday night and released early Sunday morning. LOS ANGELES WOMAN ROBBED AT GUNPOINT AFTER SUSPECT FOLLOWS HER INTO PARKING GARAGE, VIDEO SHOWS The statue was stolen at around 3:45 a.m. on Sept. 18, police said. According to the Barakat Gallery, the statute is from Japan's Edo Period of 1603-1867. Surveillance video indicates the suspect broke into the gallery's entrance through a driveway gate, using a dolly to transport the statue onto a truck in a timeframe of 25 minutes. LOS ANGELES POLICE P...

The mother of 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley who's accused of killing Pava Marie LaPere in a Baltimore apartment is urging her son to turn himself in. Officials said LaPere, 26, was found dead Monday at 11:34 a.m. at an apartment complex on the 300 block of West Franklin Street in Baltimore, Maryland. LaPere had signs of blunt-force trauma. Officials said during a Tuesday night press conference that there's no known relationship between Billingsley and LaPere. Shortly before officers arrived at the apartment, a missing person's call was made, an investigation revealed. Homicide detectives are investigating her death. WHO IS JASON BILLINGSLEY, ACCUSED OF KILLING BALTIMORE TECH CEO PAVA MARIE LAPERE? LaPere was the CEO of Baltimore-based EcoMap Technologies and was the social impact category recipient of the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 award. Scarlett Billingsley, the suspect's mother, told NBC News that she's urging her son to surrender. "I told him to ...

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he supports a border wall, saying migrants need to produce a "shred of evidence" to receive asylum in the United States. "We actually do need a wall, and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that," Musk said in a X post on Wednesday evening. The owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X — formerly known as Twitter — argued that gaining asylum status after illegally crossing the southern border is as easy as a quick Google search.  "It’s a hack that you can literally Google to know exactly what to say!" he added. In the previous thread, Musk jumped into the conversation about Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy discussing the border crisis amid the impending government shutdown. "But if you paid attention last night to what happened to the border yesterday, 11,000 people came across illegally. That's 50,000 in just the last five days," ...

A Stanislaus County, California, deputy was arrested Tuesday morning on allegations that he had sexually abused a teenager over the course of about five years, according to authorities. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said 40-year-old Deputy Matthew Dessert was arrested Tuesday for continual sexual abuse of a child, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor 14 or 15 years of age, penetration with a foreign object of a victim under the age of 18, sexual battery and physical abuse of a child. Authorities said a school counselor contacted detectives Monday morning regarding a student who disclosed the sexual abuse. DOCTOR ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PATIENTS WHO RELIED ON HIM FOR ‘LIFE-SAVING CARE’ When detectives responded to the school to investigate, they learned the teenager allegedly knew the victim and the abuse began when he was 9. Detectives requested to interview Dessert at the sheriff’s office, and he voluntarily complied, authorities said. He was later arrested, ...

Florida authorities recently arrested 15 suspects in connection to illegal berry harvesting in the Sunshine State. Indian River County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests Wednesday. The office said that the unlawful harvesting of saw palmetto berries has been an issue since August. The berries themselves are legal and have a variety of health benefits, but the suspects are accused of trespassing and theft. "This vital natural resource is used for health benefits and is sold as a natural supplement," Indian River County Sheriff's Office explained in a press release. "Unfortunately, some folks like [to] plunder state and private property." FLORIDA MAN WITH LONG RAP SHEET ATTACKS EX, BEATS GOOD SAMARITAN UNCONSCIOUS IN BRUTAL ASSAULT: COPS "Problems from this illegal activity include trespassing, theft, and damaging property such as fences and posts being cut and at times causing livestock to wander onto roadways," authorities added. Offic...

Violent crimes continue to rise in Washington, D.C. , with the latest instances involving an elementary school that reportedly went on lockdown Monday after bullets struck several windows of a kindergarten classroom, and the fatal shooting of a teenager Tuesday, marking the 200th homicide in the capital this year. FOX 5 D.C. reported that the gunfire was heard around 1:35 p.m. near Stanton Elementary School on Naylor Road in the southeastern portion of the city. At the time, students were outside and rushed back into the building. Those who were already inside were moved away from windows, and all movement inside was put on hold. DC COUNCILMEMBER INTRODUCES BILL AIMED AT TACKLING DISTRICT'S UPTICK IN VIOLENT CRIME Investigators swept the building and discovered bullets struck windows of both an empty fifth grade classroom and two windows of a kindergarten classroom. By 2:10 p.m., school officials lifted the lockdown; no injuries were reported. "I want to acknowledge tha...

A 74-year-old man in Florida was recently scratched and bitten by an otter that later tested positive for rabies, officials say. The Florida Department of Health confirmed that the 3-year-old male otter bit a dog and a human Sept. 20 in Jupiter, according to documents obtained by FOX 35 Orlando. The status of the dog is unknown, but the animal was taken to a vet after the attack. The human victim, Joseph Scaglione, told officials that he was out giving corn feed to ducks before the incident occurred. When he turned to go back to his residence, Scaglione heard the sound of ducks flying away and then noticed the otter. "[The victim] began to back up slowly still facing the otter. That is when the otter went and attacked him for several minutes," the case report from the Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control said. "He was bit[ten] on both arms and legs." FLORIDA ALLIGATOR SPOTTED WITH ‘BODY IN HIS MOUTH’   Officials were called to the scene and found the ...

A Jack-in-the-Box employee in Texas opened fire on a drive-thru customer in March 2021, and now, video has been released showing the moment the incident escalated. FOX 26 Houston reported that the incident happened at a Jack-in-the-Box near George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston  on March 3, 2021. That night, Florida resident Anthony Ramos picked up his pregnant wife and 6-year-old daughter from the airport. HOUSTON MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING WIFE AFTER 911 OPERATOR RECALLED HEARING GUNSHOT DURING HER CALL The family ordered food from the drive-thru and were met at the window by restaurant worker Alloniea Ford. When Ramos received his food, he asked for the missing curly fries, which were denied by Ford. The two became involved in a verbal argument, which was captured during the nearly 23-minute surveillance footage obtained by the news station. POLICE APPEAR TO THREATEN GIRL, 11, WITH CHILD PORN CHARGES AFTER FATHER'S CALL FOR HELP Ford left the video frame bri...

Temple University says former president and current chancellor Richard Englert will take over temporarily as president following the death last week of then-acting president JoAnne Epps. Englert serve as a "transitional leader" to carry on the work Epps started "and provide a steady hand of leadership while the search for Temple’s next chief executive continues," the Philadelphia university said in an announcement Tuesday. From 2016 to 2021, Englert served as Temple president, and earlier stepped in as acting president during a nearly half- century career at the university. The school said it hopes to announce the choice of the next president in spring 2024. TEMPLE NAMES FORMER LAW SCHOOL DEAN JOANNE EPPS AS ACTING PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY Epps died a week ago at 72 after falling ill on stage at a memorial event, after which the "acting" designation was removed from her title in recognition of her contributions during her brief tenure. The follow...

Some Chicago elected officials want voters to decide whether the city should remain a sanctuary city as migrants continue to arrive and put a strain on its resources and finances.  Around 9,000 migrants are staying in 21 city shelters and another 2,000 are still waiting for space to free up as buses with migrants began arriving in the city last year, Fox Chicago reported.  Chicago is spending an estimated $5 million per week to house the migrants, although some put the actual figure at much higher, the news outlet said.  Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale of Chicago's 9th Ward said his constituents are asking him to continue to "fight this fight." He wants the sanctuary city question to be put before voters on the March 2024 primary ballot. BIDEN FACING REVOLT FROM BLUE STATE DEMOCRATS OVER IMMIGRATION CRISIS "Right now, we're dealing with a huge, huge disaster here in the city of Chicago and we need to get a handle on it. Nobody has ever asked the voters, the...

A Humble, Texas man was sentenced to 75 years in prison for killing a 22-year-old acquaintance, then putting the murder weapons up for sale just minutes later. Twenty-year-old Siten Anney was found guilty by a jury after a four-day trial for shooting and killing Trevor Alan Harrison on Nov. 23, 2020. The two men knew each other, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office, and Anney believed Harrison was involved in the killing of another friend a year earlier. DALLAS POLICE RELEASE FOOTAGE OF SHOOTOUT WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO FIRED INTO TRUCK, KILLING HIS ROOMMATE Anney was so convinced that he lured Harrison to an apartment development on Atascocita Road in Humble and fatally shot him in the parking lot with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Anney then fled the scene, and 21 minutes later, attempted to sell the murder weapons online. TEXAS GANG MEMBER GETS LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR KILLING 11-YEAR-OLD BOY WHILE FREE ON BOND FOR CAPITAL MURDER Ogg’s office said ...