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Two 70-plus year prison sentences for suburban man guilty of murder-for-hire plots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A former southwest suburban school bus driver already serving a 70-plus year prison sentence for a failed murder-for-hire plot has been issued an additional decades-long punishment in connection with another foiled attempt.Will County prosecutors said Christian Shepherd, 44, of Ottawa attempted to employ an inmate to murder a victim he was charged with sexually assaulting, the victim’s mother and two detectives in May 2010. Ed Burke trial: No verdict reached as first full day of jury deliberation wraps Christian ShepherdProsecutors said Shepherd gave the inmate a map to the residence of two of his intended victims, as well as a taunting statement for the inmate to read.The inmate turned the documents over to police and wore a wire, which prosecutors say captured Shepherd planning the murders.Once charged, Shepherd attempted to hire a second inmate to kill the originally targeted victims and the first would-be hitman. The second inmate also informed police ...

Fiery crash involving tractor trailers closes I-70 in both directions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. - Interstate 70 was closed in both directions in O'Fallon, Missouri, late Tuesday afternoon due to a fiery crash involving two tractor trailers and a passenger vehicle.The crash happened in the eastbound lanes of I-70 at TR Hughes Boulevard. An exact time could not be immediately determined.Both tractor trailers caught fire, along with another vehicle. Firefighters and other first responders raced to the scene, and the fires were extinguished shortly after 6:50 p.m.O'Fallon police closed all eastbound lanes at Highway K. Meanwhile, St. Peters police shut down the westbound lanes at Highway 79.The Missouri Department of Transportation's accident reconstruction team responded to determine the cause for the crash.This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

How college football’s transfer portal is “killing high school recruiting” in Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

Last spring, Fountain-Fort Carson left tackle Lincoln Fa’apouli Jr. had five Division I scholarship offers, including one to play Power 5 football at Kansas.Fast-forward to the end of his senior season, and Fa’apouli’s seen his scholarship pool dry up. Those Division I offers? Gone, he’s been told, because of the trickle-down consequences of the college transfer portal. Now, the 6-foot-5, 320-pounder who helped pave the way for one of Colorado’s top rushing attacks this fall is down to one Division II offer, from CSU-Pueblo.“I did try to commit to a few of those (Division I) colleges recently, but I was halted by the words, ‘I’m sorry, all of our spots are taken because we’re taking a couple guys in from the transfer portal,'” Fa’apouli said. “I heard that more times than I’d like to admit. Even other Division I’s that were interested in me and had me on visits but hadn’t offered me yet —...

Denver mayor, under fire for homeless initiative’s tracking of numbers, puts focus on outcomes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said Tuesday that he and staff members had conversations only in recent days about how the administration has been reporting progress — and numbers — in an online dashboard for his House 1,000 homeless sheltering effort.The mayor’s office has come under fire in the last week for counting people moved indoors for any length of time rather than only those who have been sheltered for at least 14 days. That is the threshold Johnston and his team had said they would use to report progress toward their goal of moving 1,000 people off the streets by Dec. 31, ending a five-month blitz aimed at greatly reducing street homelessness and illegal camping.“I think it wasn’t until, I don’t know, three or four days ago that those conversations came up around where that data was shown,” Johnston said during a news conference.He was referring to counts of people participating in the initiative as well as counts of those who may have...

Violent assaults on L.A. Metro workers are on the rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

A new study revealed that bus and train operators in Southern California are being increasingly targeted in violent attacks.A report by the Urban Institute found that, over the past 15 years, major assaults on bus and rail operators across the U.S. have tripled. “Major” assaults were defined as “an event resulting in a fatality or injury requiring medical transport.” From 2008 and 2022, major assaults rose from 168 to 492 nationwide, according to the study.The report analyzed data from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database. Assaults that didn’t meet the FTA’s “major” threshold that drivers were still subjected to include stabbing, spitting, hitting and kicking, and unwelcome sexual misconduct.“Operators have also reported being robbed, having things thrown at them, being doused with urine and hot beverages, being threatened at gunpoint, and shot at,” the study said.A plexiglass installed for safety near an L.A. Metro bus driver. (KTLA)L.A. Metro bu...

Activists call for permanent closure of Adelanto Detention Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

While authorities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are reviewing the contract with the company that runs the Adelanto Detention Facility, activists are calling on local elected officials to permanently close the prison.  On Tuesday, activists with a group called Shutdown Adelanto Coalition gathered outside the prison. The coalition claims that Congressional Republicans are encouraging the Department of Homeland Security to keep the facility open.  In 2022, the Biden Administration listed the detention center as one of six facilities around the country that should be closed or downsized due to high costs, Reuters reports.  In September 2020, ICE was blocked from sending more detainees to Adelanto because of the COVID pandemic. That rule is still in place, meaning the center, which can hold up to 2,000 immigrants, is only housing a fraction of that.  Over the next 60 days, ICE will be reviewing its contract with the facility to either permanently close the ...

Ruptured water main backs up traffic in Van Nuys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a ruptured underground pipeline that was spewing water onto the streets in the San Fernando Valley Tuesday.  Calls about the burst pipeline at the intersection of Hazeltine Avenue and Van Owen Street came in at just after 3 p.m., fire officials said.  Video posted to the Citizen App showed a heavy stream of water gushing out of the pipeline in the middle of the roadway.  Water gushing from an 8 inch water main rupture in Van Nuys on Dec. 19, 2023. (Citizen App)Crews on the scene of a water main rupture causing traffic delays in Van Nuys on Dec. 19, 2023. (Citizen App)Crews on the scene of a water main rupture causing traffic delays in Van Nuys on Dec. 19, 2023. (Citizen App)Fire officials said there was no serious risk of flooding, but that broken pipe had caused both street pavement and soil damage in the intersection.  According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the burst line is an 8 inch ...

Touching photos shows injured K9, deputy recovering from crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

A Ventura County Sheriff’s Office deputy and his K9 partner will be back on the job soon after recovering from a collision involving an alleged DUI driver, officials announced Monday.The crash occurred Saturday night when Deputy Castaneda and his K9, Danny, were responding to a call of a possible DUI driver near Neptune’s Net, a popular seafood restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Oxnard.As they were traveling southbound on PCH, they collided with a white Mercedes sedan that was driving into oncoming traffic, according to the California Highway Patrol.A Ventura County Sheriff's vehicle is seen resting on rocks near the ocean after a crash on Dec. 16, 2023. (VCSO)"Deputy Castaneda saw the Mercedes approaching him and took evasive measures to avoid a crash; however, the front of the Mercedes subsequently struck the patrol vehicle," CHP said in its report.The impact sent the SUV flying off the roadway and down a rocky cliff where it came to rest in a precarious spo...

Woman missing after walking her dog along North Bay highway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

(KRON) -- The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is searching for a woman who was reported missing on Tuesday.Donnita Hall, 76, was last seen around noon Tuesday in Windsor walking her dog on Highway 101 between Arata Lane and Shiloh Road. She is considered at-risk due to her age and dementia. Antioch police search for missing man Hall is a white woman who stands 5-foot-6 with long, gray hair and brown eyes. An image of Hall is at the top of the story.Hall was last seen wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans. Her dog is small with black-and-white fur. Anyone who sees Hall or knows where she might be is asked to call (707) 565-2121.

Judge orders release of over 150 names of people mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit documents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the public disclosure of the identities of more than 150 people mentioned in a mountain of court documents related to the late-financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying that most of the names were already public and that many had not objected to the release.The people whose names are to be disclosed, including sex abuse victims, litigation witnesses, Epstein’s employees — and even some people with only a passing connection to the scandal — have until Jan. 1 to appeal the order, signed Monday by Judge Loretta A. Preska.For several years, Preska has reviewed documents sought by the Miami Herald from a civil case, filed by one of Epstein’s victims, that eventually was settled. Many of the records related to that lawsuit were publicly released in past years, but on Monday the judge made determinations about some portions of the records that were initially withheld on potential privacy grounds and what can be made public about certain peopl...