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North Shore 2017 crime spree killer Brian Brito convicted of murder, rape, robbery and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

A Lynn man has been found guilty of murdering 24-year-old pizza delivery driver Mohammedreza “Sina” Zangiband during a North Shore crime spree in 2017 that brought with it a slew of other charges, including the rape of a North Andover convenience store clerk, for which he was also convicted.A Salem Superior Court jury on Friday found Brian Brito, 27, of Lynn, guilty of murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery while masked and while carrying a firearm, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, armed assault with intent to murder, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.Judge Jeffrey Karp scheduled sentencing for July 12.“The brutality of these crimes has changed many lives forever but justice was served through a tremendous group effort by our trial team, victim witness staff and investigators with units across the community,” Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said in a statement following the verdict.“This wa...

Wounded SDPD officer recovering at home as manhunt continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego's police chief flew in from Louisville, Kentucky to provide an update on his officer shot in the line of duty.Chief David Nisleit confirmed the officer who was shot was released from the hospital and is recovering at home with his family. And the chief had sharp words for the gunman still on the loose.“To the suspect, I know you know who you are. You need to surrender. We are not going stop searching for you until we take you into custody,” Nisleit said on Friday. SDPD officer shot in Chollas Creek Nisleit did not identify the officer but says he had just got off training and had been out on patrol for only 6 or 7 months The shooting happened Thursday in the 5200 block of Wightman Street in Chollas Creek. Police say the officer was conducting a traffic stop for a stolen truck when the driver got out of the truck and ran toward an apartment complex.The officer chased the suspect, and that’s when the chief says the suspect fired multiple times at...

5 things to do in San Diego’s desert areas to escape ‘June Gloom’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- If you're looking for warmer weather this weekend, head out to San Diego's deserts where temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s.According to the National Weather Service, a few degrees of cooling is expected Friday in areas west of the mountains with even further cooling into Saturday.As the week reaches its end and you're weighing options on how to spend your days off, there are several desert activities to be enjoyed in the sunshine. From Oceanside to Valle de Guadalupe: This private jet wine-tasting day trip is luxury Here's are five things to do in San Diego County's desert areas that can help you escape "June gloom."San Diego Dune Tours in Ocotillo WellsFor a thrilling adventure, hop on an ATV, dirt bike or a sport side-by-side to hit the desert lands and take in all the sights. There are several options to choose from with tours being offered for groups up to 70 or for single riders. Take the abandoned train tour for Instagram-worthy photo-ops or trek t...

Indictment takeaways: Trump’s alleged schemes and lies to keep secret papers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — The federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in 2021, and then scheming and lying to thwart government efforts to recover them.Justice Department prosecutors brought 37 felony counts against Trump in the indictment, relying upon photographs from Mar-a-Lago, surveillance video, text messages between staffers, Trump’s own words, those of his lawyers, and other evidence.“It comes across as obviously a very strong case, if it can be proven,” said Mark Zaid, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who works on national security issues. “I’m surprised as to how personally involved it alleges Trump was with respect to the documents,” he added. An aide to Trump, Walt Nauta, was charged as a co-conspirator with six felony counts.Trump says he is innocent and has decried the criminal case — the second indictment against him in a matter of months — as an attempt...

UN aid chief says Ukraine faces `hugely worse’ humanitarian situation after the dam rupture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is “hugely worse” than before the Kakhovka dam collapsed, the U.N.’s top aid official warned Friday.Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths said an “extraordinary” 700,000 people are in need of drinking water and warned that the ravages of flooding in one of the world’s most important breadbaskets will almost inevitably lead to lower grain exports, higher food prices around the world, and less to eat for millions in need“This is a viral problem,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But the truth is this is only the beginning of seeing the consequences of this act.”The rupture of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and emptying of its reservoir on the Dnieper River on Wednesday added to the misery in a region that has suffered for more than a year from artillery and missile attacks. Ukraine holds the Dnieper’s western bank, while Russian troops control the low-lying eastern side, which is more vulnerable to ...

New Mexico reaches $500M settlement with Walgreens in opioid case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has settled with Walgreens for $500 million over the pharmacy chain’s role in distributing highly addictive prescription painkillers. The agreement was signed in March, and state officials confirmed that a confidentiality provision on the agreement was lifted Friday. The settlement is in addition to $274 million in settlements obtained in the case last fall from Albertsons, CVS, Kroger and Walmart. Attorneys representing the state say that, in all, New Mexico’s opioid litigation has brought in more than $1 billion. They argued at trial last year that Walgreens failed to recognize suspicious prescriptions and refuse to fill them.“I’m optimistic this will help in the fight against the opioid crisis and provide the treatment New Mexicans so desperately need,” Luis Robles, one of the attorneys who worked on the case, told the Santa Fe New Mexican.Over the past few years, drug manufacturers, distribution companies, pharmacies and other companies with role...

Wildfire pollution can cause headaches, skin irritation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

The air pollution caused by smoke from wildfires in Ontario and Quebec can no doubt lead to various respiratory problems, but there are a number of other, less obvious health impacts that could crop up.Dr. Samantha Green from Unity Health Toronto explains that wildfire smoke “is made up of a whole soup of pollutants.”“The one group of pollutants we think most about are Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), and those are the very tiny particulates that can not only [affect] the eyes, the nose, the throat, the lungs, but they actually get deep, deep into the lungs and can enter the bloodstream,” she explains.“Within an hour of exposure to wildfire smoke, we can document widespread inflammation in the body.”Inflammation leads to pain and she says people most often complain of headaches in this context.“The larger particulate matter, PM 10, is what can cause those kinds of irritating symptoms. So the eye irritation, runny nose, sore throat, and even ...

Key moments in Trump indictment: Flaunting classified material, stowing boxes in Mar-a-Lago bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department detailed stunning allegations against former President Donald Trump in a criminal indictment unsealed Friday, including allegations he stored classified documents in a bathroom and shower at his Florida club, flaunted the documents to people without security clearances and at times tried to conceal material from his own lawyers as well as investigators. In the indictment, prosecutors spell out the types of classified material the Republican presidential candidate is accused of keeping at his Florida beach club after he left office in 2021, along with where he is said to have kept them and what he did with them. A look at key moments as described in the indictment:FLAUNTING DOCUMENTSIn July 2021 at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, the former president showed a writer, a publisher and two of his staff members — none of whom had a security clearance — a “plan of attack” that had been prepared by the Defense Department and a sen...

Firefighters from France arrive to battle blazes as wildfire smoke lingers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

Firefighters from France arrived in Canada to help Quebec face a marathon wildfire season while most evacuation orders were lifted in Nova Scotia nearly two weeks after intense infernos caused thousands to flee their homes. Meanwhile, wildfire smoke that hung over Toronto for several days cleared Canada’s most populous city Friday, but the hazy skies persisted in other parts of Ontario and Quebec and blanketed much of the west as 420 wildfires continued to burn across the country. The arrival of firefighters from France and New Brunswick bolstered efforts in Quebec to fight 140 fires. “The sprint phase has ended and we’re now in the marathon phase,” said Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the province’s minister of forests and natural resources.There is expected to be about 1,200 people fighting fires in the province by Monday, including hundreds of firefighters from the United States, Portugal and Spain who were expected to arrive in the coming days. Quebec Prem...

Officer who raced to Parkland massacre scene testifies against deputy who stayed outside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:10 GMT

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A police officer who rushed into a high school building during the 2018 Parkland shooting testified Friday that a sheriff’s deputy outside confirmed that the shooter was upstairs.The former Broward County deputy, Scot Peterson, is on trial for failing to confront the shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. He has insisted since he spoke to investigators two days after the massacre that he couldn’t tell where the gunshots were coming from, and that he thought they may have been fired outside.On the third day of Peterson’s trial, Coral Springs officer Richard Best related what he says Peterson told him outside the classroom building, WPLG-TV reported. “I said, ‘Hey brother, what do we got?’” Best told the jury. “He said, ‘Gunshots second or third floor.’”Peterson, 60, could be sentenced to nearly a century in prison if convicted.“It is understood that the longer you wait, the more damage is being done,” Best said. “Every time yo...