Author: rpnadmin

PROVO, Utah — Prosecutors played a video clip in court Wednesday of suspect Tyler Robinson after he had turned himself in to Utah authorities a day after the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The video showed Robinson standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap. There was no audio and it was unclear if he was interviewed by investigators while at the sheriff’s office. State District Judge Tony Graf will decide at the conclusion of this week’s hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated…

TORONTO — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday – the first visit to the kingdom by a Canadian leader in 26 years – as he seeks to expand his country’s economic ties beyond its heavy reliance on the United States. Carney is to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the kingdom’s de facto ruler – on Thursday, and he will also address the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum and attend a signing ceremony. The trip underscores Ottawa’s effort to diversify trade and attract investment as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to the…

Two New World screwworm cases in dogs are among more than 30 confirmed instances in Texas and New Mexico, prompting warnings Wednesday from veterinarians and humane societies that pet owners need to remain vigilant to protect their animals. The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do. Here is what to know about the parasite, the…

Waymo halted one of its robotaxis mid-ride and called California cops after it caught two teen passengers drinking booze and shooting pellets from toy guns, police said. The two 15-year-olds were riding in a Waymo in San Mateo, California, about 16 miles southeast of San Francisco on Monday. The San Mateo Police Department said the two were “shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town,” which was reported to them by Waymo. The police did not mention any injuries occurring as a result of the joyride. Orbeez are a brand of water-absorbent…

Asian parents in Montgomery County are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their argument that the public schools system’s “racial balancing” policy illegally excludes their high-performing children from middle school STEM programs. The Association for Education Fairness bills itself as a group of “concerned Asian-American parents” supporting merit-based admissions. It insists in a writ filed this month that Maryland’s largest school district misused “facially-neutral admissions criteria” to purge “undesirable racial enrollment patterns.” The writ singles out a post-pandemic mandate that “students in the band of lowest-poverty schools (where Asian-American students are disproportionately clustered) had to achieve a 93rd percentile…

New Jersey firefighters abandoned ship over the weekend after their boat was struck by a breaching whale, causing the vessel to sink. The Carteret Fire Department unit, part of a marine security detail, was returning from the New York City area at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday when the collision occurred, department officials said on social media. “We were doing about maybe seven or eight knots, and all of a sudden, there was this loud bang. I opened up the engine hatch and looked below, and to my surprise, there was a big hole in the back wall of the boat,…

WASHINGTON — A National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C. has ballooned during the celebrations of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence, bolstered in part by contingents from Democratic-led states. That participation has sparked anger among some in the nation’s capital who argue the troops from Democratic-led states are not just there to assist in securing the festivities but are being drawn into the Trump administration’s ongoing, open-ended Guard deployment to the city. A contingent from Minnesota sent for the 250th is set to depart early. On Tuesday, a coalition of think tanks, civic, labor and civil rights groups asked Michigan…

JACKSON, Miss. — The former mayor of Mississippi’s capital city and the former City Council president have pleaded guilty in a bribery scheme one week before they were set to face trial. Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson City Council President Aaron Banks pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy. Their pleas came after Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pleaded guilty last week and resigned. All three are Democrats. Two other people – Angelique Lee, the Democratic former vice president of the Jackson City Council, and Sherik Marve Smith, a businessman and relative of Owens…

SAN FRANCISCO — All charges against a radiologist accused of trying to kill his family in 2023 by driving his car off a cliff along the Northern California coast have been dismissed by a judge following his completion of a mental health program. Prosecutors charged Dharmesh Patel, 45, with attempted murder after he drove his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County, injuring his wife and two young children. All four survived the Jan. 2, 2023, crash in what one official called an “absolute miracle.” A San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges…

CHICAGO — George E. Johnson Sr., a pioneer in Black hair care whose multimillion-dollar business was the first Black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange, has died at age 99, according to his family. Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released. Johnson and his late wife, Joan, started Johnson Products in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to Black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen. His company was a national sponsor…