Author: rpnadmin

JACKSON, Miss. — The hanging death of Tasia Fortune, whose body was found outside an abandoned house, has shaken her family and community in Mississippi, where two other people have been found hanging from trees in less than a year. Police have not indicated whether they consider the 29-year-old Black woman’s death suspicious, saying only that they are actively working “to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.” A week after her body was found, a memorial with a photo of her face surrounded by pink and white balloons, flowers and teddy bears remained Monday behind the home in a predominantly…

ICE said it wants custody of an illegal immigrant again after he was accused of sexually assaulting a Maine woman while out on bail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they filed a detainer for rideshare driver Aguid Mahamat, 26, following his alleged Aug. 1 attack on a drunken woman in Lewiston. Police said the suspect spotted the visibly impaired victim in a parking lot, put her in the backseat of his car and then drove her to a different location to assault her. He was charged with gross sexual assault and jailed at the Androscoggin County Jail. Court records obtained…

PENTICTON, British Columbia — Canada put its military on standby Monday to help battle deadly wildfires in British Columbia as a local mayor warned that one of the blazes had wreaked huge destruction on his community. A woman has died and some 20,000 people have fled their homes so far. For days, scores of wildfires have burned across the province, nearly half of them out of control in hot, windy weather and prolonged drought. Thousands have fled on jammed roads as officials said even more communities could be threatened. The mayor of Summerland – home to about 12,000 people, which…

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. — Jackie, the bald eagle who became an internet sensation and a symbol of the species’ recovery in California, died Monday after being treated for an illness at a veterinary facility, her caretakers announced. For more than a decade, nature lovers watched via an online video feed as Jackie and her partner Shadow tended to their nest each year atop trees near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. The nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the nest camera in 2015 and documented the successes and failures of each breeding…

A former leader of a Northern Arizona University fraternity pleaded guilty Monday to hazing and causing a pledge’s death by making him drink excessively at an off-campus rush event. Carter Eslick, 20, entered the plea to a felony hazing charge involving the death of Colin Daniel Martinez, 18, in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Eslick would serve no more than four years of probation. A judge will determine the length and could also impose up to a year in jail at a Sept. 30 sentencing hearing. Martinez, who was pledging to the now-defunct Delta…

KENSINGTON, Maryland — The contiguous United States sizzled to its hottest month ever last month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. July averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree. Records go back to 1895. “It’s not good when you’re breaking records from the Dust Bowl, which we are in this case,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections. “And that was a crazy sort of situation where you put tens of millions of people in motion. You had this great migration because of…

The District has witnessed nine killings in the past two weeks, as violence ticks up in the nation’s capital during the summer months. Metropolitan Police reported deadly shootings in various parts of the city since last month, with three teenagers listed among the victims. Only one arrest has been made in the slayings. Authorities said they took a suspect into custody following Wednesday night’s homicide in Glover Park. Police were called about a shooting just before 8 p.m. at an apartment in the 2500 block of 41st Street NW. Officers found Bobby Lee Cannon, 35, of Southeast, dead from gunshot…

Congressional Democrats said they are investigating the Trump administration’s efforts to deport military service members and their families after The Associated Press found more than 50 active-duty troops’ spouses and parents have been detained by immigration authorities. In a letter sent Sunday evening to the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Democrats said they will investigate whether the Pentagon and DHS are coordinating to deport military service members and their families. “These efforts imperil military readiness, weaken service members’ morale, and betray America’s promises to the people who put their lives on…

The crew of a yacht owned by Mark Zuckerberg did not hear a radio call for a maritime assist from a small skiff that ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska, and by the time it did, another nearby ship had already rendered assistance, a spokesperson for the Meta CEO said. The Alaska Beacon reported that the skiff had issued a call for assistance through the U.S. Coast Guard last week and a nearby small cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, towed it into nearby Farragut Bay in Southeast Alaska and refueled it. Every ship is obligated to respond…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Weeks before voting ended in California’s primary for governor, Los Angeles-based influencer Shaka Smith took to Instagram to tell his more than 700,000 followers whom he was voting for and why. “Healthcare shouldn’t bankrupt you, housing should not feel impossible, polluters shouldn’t pass their bill to us and artists should not be replaced by AI,” Smith said. “That’s why I’m supporting Tom Steyer for governor.” But Smith started the video with a disclaimer: “This is an ad, and honestly, I wish more political content said that first.” His caption specified that he was paid by Steyer’s campaign.…