PITTSBURGH (AP) — Three more jurors were chosen Tuesday to serve on the panel that will hear Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case, bringing to eight the number so far agreed upon by prosecutors and the defense team. Lawyers will continue to question Pittsburgh-area residents this week until they find a panel of 12 jurors and … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court wrestled Tuesday over whether Baltimore police officers were justified in killing an unarmed mentally ill black man after his mother called 911 to get medical attention for her son. Maurice Donald Johnson, who suffered from bipolar disorder, was fatally shot by two Baltimore police officers during a … Continue reading
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The shape of Bill Cosby’s felony sexual assault trial could become clearer at a hearing Tuesday when his lawyers fight to keep out key evidence, including nearly 1,000 pages of damaging testimony he gave in the accuser’s lawsuit. Cosby, 79, is charged with drugging and molesting a woman he mentored at Temple … Continue reading
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Within weeks of the September 2014 disappearance of 43 college students, Mexican authorities had rounded up scores of suspects and announced they had solved the case. At a hastily called news conference, prosecutors showed video of drug gang members confessing to taking the students from police, then slaughtering them and incinerating the … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — Facebook lost a crucial legal battle Friday as a Paris court ruled the social network can be sued in France over its decision to remove the account of a French user who posted a photo of a famous 19th-century nude painting. The ruling by the Paris appeals court could set a legal … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Mexican national charged with fatally shooting a young San Francisco woman walking on a city pier is seeking dismissal of his criminal case, which added to the national debate over illegal immigration. Juan Francisco Sanchez-Lopez and his lawyer Matt Gonzalez are expected to ask a judge Friday, Jan. 29 to drop … Continue reading
BOSTON (AP) — A decade after a group of smokers from Massachusetts sued Philip Morris USA to try to force the cigarette maker to pay for lung cancer screenings, the case will finally be heard by a jury. Smokers in the class-action lawsuit allege Philip Morris manufactured a defective cigarette knowing it could have made … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing an investigation into a model’s accusations that Bill Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion, an official said Thursday. District attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison said Thursday that police detectives presented evidence Wednesday afternoon for a possible criminal case. There’s no timetable for when a decision … Continue reading
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An American who spent nine months in a United Arab Emirates prison for his role in an online parody video is seeking a pardon and financial compensation. Shezanne Cassim, 30, of Woodbury, told The Associated Press on Thursday, April 23 that he has faced difficulty getting a job in the United States … Continue reading
ATLANTA (AP) — All but one of 10 former Atlanta public school educators convicted in a widespread conspiracy to inflate student scores on standardized tests were sentenced to jail time Tuesday, April 14 and the judge called the cheating scandal “the sickest thing that’s ever happened in this town.” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry … Continue reading
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Navy captain has received a 30-day sentence after pleading guilty to a pornography charge. A military judge also ordered Capt. Richard Frey to forfeit $18,000 in pay over the next year. The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/1GRsujF ) reports that the 48-year-old Frey was sentenced Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of downloading … Continue reading
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Former President Alfonso Portillo flew home Wednesday after being released from a six-year prison term in the U.S. for accepting $2.5 million in bribes from Taiwan. Portillo, who had been held at a minimum-security facility since last year, was let go after being credited with time served in Guatemala, where … Continue reading
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Virginia will pay $520,000 to the lawyers for two same-sex couples who successfully challenged the state’s gay marriage ban. The settlement agreement was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. The attorneys had sought more than $1.7 million. The law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher will receive … Continue reading
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The 10 police officers assigned to protect a federal prosecutor who accused President Cristina Fernandez of shielding Iranians sought in an Argentine terrorist bombing are being investigated for their actions on the day the prosecutor was found shot to death. The officers, along with two supervisors, are being looked … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 