Canada's top Court upholds asylum-seeker pact with US to control flow of refugees
By Anna Mehler Paperny TORONTO Canada's Supreme Court on Friday upheld an asylum-seeker pact between Canada and the
2023-06-17 02:45
US requests probe of alleged labor abuses at Grupo Mexico mine
By Daina Beth Solomon MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. labor officials on Friday asked Mexico to investigate alleged worker rights abuses
2023-06-17 02:45
Can players from the G League get picked in the NBA Draft?
The G League offers players more than just a controlled environment to develop their skills. For certain players, it's their ticket to the NBA.Yes, players from the G League can be selected in the NBA draft. Per their website, "If a player from high school, college or overseas enters t...
2023-06-17 02:26
Iowa Supreme Court deadlocks on 6-week abortion ban and leaves block in place
Abortion will remain legal in Iowa for up to 20 weeks after the state Supreme Court on Friday declined to lift a block on a six-week ban.
2023-06-17 01:59
Arizona man on death row for 29 years is released after conviction for girl’s murder is thrown out
An Arizona man who was convinced and sentenced to death in the death of a four-year-old was released from prison on Thursday (15 June) after serving 29 years in prison. Barry Lee Jones, 64, was accused of murder, child abuse and sexual assault in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter, Rachel Gray, in 1994. For nearly 30 years, Mr Jones has maintained his innocence that he did not sexually assault or kill her. Now, after a years-long appeal process, a Pima County judge ordered Mr Jones’s release after approving a deal that Mr Jones’s defence team struck with prosecutors who said a medical re-examination of the case didn’t support a finding that Mr Jones caused the girl’s injury. Mr Jones pled guilty to second-degree murder. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said evidence supported that because Mr Jones was caring for Rachel at the time, allowing her to die as a result of her injuries. “After almost 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit, Barry Jones is finally coming home,” Cary Sandman, a federal public defender who represented Mr Jones for over 20 years said as reported by the Arizona Republic. The case In early May 1994, Mr Jones drove his girlfriend, Angela Gray and her four-year-old daughter to a Tuscon hospital, where the child was pronounced dead upon arrival. Mr Jones had been living with his daughter, Ms Gray and her three daughters for approximately three months at the time of the incident in a trailer park in Tuscon. Doctors noted the young child had bruises covering her body and a cut on her head. An autopsy showed that Rachel’s death was caused by a small bowel laceration due to “blunt abdominal trauma” according to an investigation from The Intercept. Immediately fingers were pointed at Mr Jones and Ms Gray. Mr Jones reportedly said Rachel was injured while on his watch the day before but it was not his doing. The young girl had hit her head after falling from his parked work van. The four-year-old told Mr Jones a little boy pushed her out of the van and hit her in the stomach with a metal bar. However, the key witnesses comprised of eight-year-old twins and Rachel’s 10-year-old sister, claimed they may have seen Mr Jones hitting Rachel. Mr Jones was arrested and charged with child abuse as well as the murder and sexual assault of Rachel. He was found guilty by a jury in April 1995. However, in Mr Jones’s appeals, it is noted that the jury did not receive all of the information related to the case – like evidence that alleged Ms Gray had been abusive toward her children and potential predators interacted with Rachel. The appeal Mr Jones’s first appealed in 1997 but the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the conviction. He tried to appeal again in 2008, this time federally, but it was denied. Finally, in 2014, Mr Jones’s case was remanded to a federal district judge after new evidence emerged about the young boy who hit Rachel in the stomach with a metal bar. The federal judge called for Mr Jones’s release in a July 2018 ruling, concluding Jones’ earlier lawyer had failed to adequately investigate whether the girl’s injuries were suffered during the time she was alone with him. Experts testified that Rachel may have been injured earlier. The judge’s ruling was upheld by an appeals court, though Jones remained in prison. But the US Supreme Court reversed the decision a year ago, with Justice Clarence Thomas saying the federal courts are generally barred from taking in new evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel that could help prisoners. With Mr Jones still behind bars, his attorneys struck a deal with prosecutors for his release. Under the agreement, once his convictions and death sentence were thrown out, Mr Jones pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in connection with his failure to seek medical care for the girl. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and will be given credit for time served. Now that Jones’ death sentence has been thrown out, Arizona has 110 people on its death row. Read More Arizona woman alleges sexual assault by Trevor Bauer; he denies allegation and countersues Australian man sentenced to 9 years in prison for gay American's 1988 manslaughter US Marine among two men arrested for firebombing California Planned Parenthood Heather Mack’s mother told police she feared her daughter would kill her. They were powerless to prevent it Woman accused of murdering husband ‘pushed him’ while holding knife, jury told
2023-06-17 01:57
First Location of the ‘Friends’-Inspired Central Perk Coffee Chain Is Coming to Boston
Instead of staying true to the New York setting of 'Friends,' the Central Perk Coffeehouse is opening its first location in Boston.
2023-06-17 01:46
‘Asteroid City’ Review: Wes Anderson’s sci-fi unveils exquisite yet eerily devoid scenes on the verge of collapse
'Asteroid City' goes above and beyond to anything that you have seen before, especially considering A-list cast, however, falls into seams by the end
2023-06-17 01:25
Three children among six dead in Tennessee murder-suicide
Six people, including three children, are dead after a horror murder-suicide in Marion County, Tennessee, authorities say. Police and fire teams were called to an address in Sequatchie at about 9pm on Thursday night after neighbors reported hearing gunfire, neighbors told WTVC. The found six victims from the same family dead, and a seventh suffering from gunshot wounds in what authorities are describing as a “domestic incident”. Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnett described the scene as being 'one of the worst I've been involved in all my career as a law enforcement officer.' Breaking more to come
2023-06-17 01:19
Team USA dominated Mexico in a 3-0 win
Team USA dominated Mexico in a 3-0 win
2023-06-17 01:16
Ahead of Juneteenth, congressional lawmakers again seek to remove exception for slavery from US Constitution
A group of Democratic lawmakers has reintroduced a joint resolution to negate a clause in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution that permits slavery or involuntary servitude "as a punishment for crime."
2023-06-17 00:57
Fox News quietly changes headline after White House accused network of lying about Pride flag
Fox News has quietly changed a headline on a highly controversial article that equated a Pride flag hung at the White House with “grooming and paedophilia”. After a furious response from LGBTQ+ advocates and White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, who accused the network of “characteristically lying through its teeth”, Fox altered the headline while keeping the central “grooming” allegations in the article. The original headline and a since-deleted tweet by Fox News’ lifestyle reporter Kerry Byrne read: “White House flew controversial new transgender flag that promotes grooming and pedophilia, say critics.” The article quoted a founder of the far-right Gays Against Groomers activist group who claimed the flag was a political statement about “indoctrinating kids and trans kids and pushing kids to sterilize and mutilate themselves”. Mr Bates later shared a screenshot of Mr Byrne’s request for comment on Twitter which made no mention of a link to paedophilia or grooming. “FoxNews is characteristically lying through their teeth,” Mr Bates tweeted. “Please see Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network. Fox never even communicated the malicious and discredited foundation of this article to the White House. Then they lie about whether we responded at all,” he tweeted. After the backlash, Fox News revised the headline on Wednesday to “White House flew controversial new transgender flag that troubles some critics in the gay community”. Fox Digital did not add a footnote explaining that the article had been changed. The flag in question, known as the Progress Pride flag, was designed by artist Daniel Quasar in 2018 and is based on the original multi-coloured rainbow flag and the transgender pride flag, according to Northwestern University. The White House confirmed to Mediaite that it had responded to Fox News to say it had been flying the flag for three years at Pride events. Fox News later updated its story after publication to include the response. The edited version included a line saying: “The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the flag’s design and meaning.” Twitter users pointed out that Fox’s parent company wrapped its logo in the same flag to promote inclusiveness in a corporate responsibility report in 2022. Fox News did not respond to The Independent‘s request for comment. A White House spokesperson referred The Independent to Mr Bates’ tweets. Fox News, other right-wing media organisations and far-right personalities have repeatedly pushed a narrative linking transgender rights to paedophilia. The “grooming conspiracy theory”, which has led to state legislatures passing dozens of punitive laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community, is based on “discredited research and junk science”, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre. On Wednesday night, a Biden administration source told CNN: “Fox paid the biggest settlement in media history because they platformed dangerous lies, and the lesson they took from that experience is to repeat the same behaviour, including spreading baseless QAnon filth?” This comes after Fox News came under fire earlier this week for describing President Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator” who tried to have “his political rival arrested” during Donald Trump’s post-arraignment speech. Read More White House condemns Fox News chyron calling Biden ‘wannabe dictator’ as broadcaster walks back accusation Trump news – live: Trump rejected efforts to settle classified papers as Melania spotted in NYC on birthday Barr, Pompeo, Pence, Haley: All the Trump allies who have now changed their tune over indictment After expulsion and reinstatement, Tennessee Reps. Pearson, Jones advance past Democratic primaries US, Japan, Philippines agree to strengthen security ties amid tensions over China, North Korea Commerce Department announces nearly $1 billion in grants for 'middle mile' internet access
2023-06-17 00:26
NBA suspends Memphis Grizzlies' star Ja Morant for 25 games without pay for 'conduct detrimental to the league'
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games without pay by the NBA for "conduct detrimental to the league," the NBA announced Friday.
2023-06-17 00:20