Glad we're agreed. :lol:

For sure! :lol:

Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.

Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence-manslaughter and remained jailed without bond for Tuesday’s crash. The Florida Highway Patrol says he drove his 2001 Ford pickup into the center line on a two-lane road and struck the bus, causing it to veer off the road, strike a tree and flip over.

The seasonal farmworkers were on their way early in the morning to harvest watermelon at Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando in north-central Florida’s Marion County, a rural area of rolling hills with numerous horse farms and abundant fruit and vegetable fields.

The Mexican consulate in Orlando was working to support the victims, meeting with some at a hotel in Gainesville. Many were taken to AdventHealth Ocala hospital.

Juan Sabines, the Mexican consul in Orlando, told Spanish language news media that seven workers, three of whom were in critical condition, remained hospitalized as of Wednesday afternoon.

Sabines said they had contacted the families of the eight workers who were killed in the crash.

He also said inspectors from the Wage and Hour Division from the U.S. Department of Labor were performing inspections at the work site, and the consul encouraged workers to call the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with anonymous tips if they had anything to report about the employer. The Department of Labor did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Sabines said he spoke with the 44-year-old bus driver, also a Mexican man with a visa.

“What he needs the most immediately is help with his mental health,” Sabines said.

In the pickup truck driver’s arrest report, state troopers say Howard had bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speech after the crash, which he said he didn’t remember.

He told an investigator that he had crashed his mother’s car into a tree while avoiding an animal a few days earlier, and that on Monday night he had taken two anti-seizure drugs and medication for high blood pressure in addition to smoking marijuana oil. He said he woke up about five hours later and was driving to a methadone clinic where he receives daily medication for a chipped vertebrae, according to the affidavit.

Howard then failed several sobriety tests and was arrested, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Responding to a judge by teleconference from jail on Wednesday, Howard said he’s a self-employed painter and drywall installer with $700 in the bank, no other assets and no dependents. Howard’s head was bandaged and he wore a protective gown typically given to inmates on suicide watch. The judge denied bond, appointed a public defender and set his next court appearance for next month.

Howard’s parents did not immediately respond to a Wednesday phone message seeking comment, and the Marion County public defender’s office declined comment.

Marion County court records show Howard has had at least three crashes and numerous traffic tickets dating back to 2006, including one citation for crossing the center line. His license has been suspended at least three times, the latest in 2021 for getting too many citations within a year. In 2013, he was convicted of grand theft. A year later, his probation was revoked after he tested positive for cocaine.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday morning that 44 Mexican farmworkers were on the bus, hired by a Mexican-American farmer to work on the watermelon farm under H-2A visas. Florida farms use about 50,000 H-2A workers each year, more than any other state, according to the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association.

Six of the dead have been identified: Evarado Ventura Hernández, 30; Cristian Salazar Villeda, 24; Alfredo Tovar Sánchez, 20; Isaías Miranda Pascal, 21; José Heriberto Fraga Acosta, 27; and Manuel Pérez Ríos, 46.

https://apnews.com/article/bus-accid...b8080d12edae51

Oh, sure. It had nothing to do with them being Mexican.

Yup.

Sean ''Diddy'' Combs cannot be charged over his apparent attack on camera from 2016 of Cassandra or ''Cassie'' Ventura due to statute of limitations.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/did...s-office-says/

Obviously the video is shocking (full disclosure: I haven't seen it) but I understand not wanting to launch criminal proceedings based on one piece of evidence.

It is a brutal video if you have not watched.

Helicopter carrying Iran's President Raisi crashes, search under way


DUBAI, May 20 (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident.
The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash", which happened on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest.

"We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
State TV quoted an official as saying at least one passenger and one crew member had been in contact with rescuers. It also said the helicopter had been found, though Iran's Red Crescent denied this report.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.

Iranian state media said bad weather caused the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter.
The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations.
Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country.

In the early hours of Monday, it showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot amid a snowy blizzard.
“We are thoroughly searching every inch of the general area of the crash," state media quoted a regional army commander as saying. "The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow."

Neighbouring countries expressed concern and offered assistance in any rescue. The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports about the crash. Turkey said it had assigned a drone, a helicopter, vehicles and a rescue team after a request by Iranian authorities. The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology.

HARDLINER, POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR TO KHAMENEI

The crash comes at a time of growing dissent within Iran over an array of political, social and economic crises. Iran's clerical rulers face international pressure over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and its deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Since Iran's ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, provoking Israel's assault on Gaza, conflagrations involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted throughout the Middle East.
Raisi, opens new tab, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
In Iran's dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is Raisi's 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power on all major policies.
For years many have seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi's main policies.
Raisi's victory in a closely managed election in 2021 brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with Washington.
However, Raisi's standing may have been dented by widespread protests against clerical rule and a failure to turn around Iran's economy, hamstrung by Western sanctions.
Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border on Sunday to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid a "friendly farewell" to Raisi earlier in the day, offered assistance in the rescue.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle...tv-2024-05-19/

The overall survival rate for helicopter crashes is 80%.

I believe president Raisi's been declared dead.

He has, weather was believed to be a culprit. An election is expected in 50 days.

From what I understand elections in Iran are similar to ones in Russia.

Judge cites error, will reopen sentencing hearing for man who attacked Paul Pelosi

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge will reopen the sentencing hearing for the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer after the judge failed to allow him to speak during his court appearance last week.

On Friday, District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced David DePape to 20 years for attempting to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and 30 years for the Oct. 28, 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the maximum for both counts. The sentences would run simultaneously. DePape also was given credit for the 18 months he has been in custody.

But in a court filing over the weekend, Corley said that it was a “clear error” on her part not to allow DePape a chance to make a statement before being sentenced as required by law. She scheduled a new hearing for May 28.

Neither prosecutors nor DePape’s defense attorneys pointed out Corley’s oversight during Friday’s hearing. “Nonetheless, it was the Court’s responsibility to personally ask Mr. DePape if he wanted to speak,” Corley wrote.

Hours after Corley handed down the sentence, prosecutors filed a motion noting that the court failed to offer DePape an opportunity “to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence” as required by federal rule. They asked the court to reopen the sentencing hearing to allow him that option, saying the court has 14 days to correct a sentence resulting from error.

https://apnews.com/article/paul-pelo...74ff7a7a0ec73f

Surely the Ayatollah has the most power in Iran anyway.

As for the retrial for that guy who attacked that politician's husband... that's very quick, isn't it? I'm sure lots of prisoners would like to see their appeals treated with this level of swiftness.

Yup.

Serial killer Robert Pickton, convicted in Calgary woman's death, sent to hospital after attack

If the name doesn't ring a bell, you should know that Pickton's the most famous serial killer in Canada at this time. He or his brother or both is/are seriously depraved. So, you know, I don't think anyone's too troubled with him being on the receiving end seeing. He's suspected of being responsible for the deaths (and cannibalization) of at least 50 women.

That being said, the rise in violence inside our prisons is also very concerning.

I know of him from ''The Pig Farm'' Documentary that has been on AMC+. I did not know Canada's prisons had seen so much violent attacks in recent years. I do not believe that God wants violence done on anyone, but I am also of course not in that woman's shoes & to each their own.