List of All Articles with Tag 'rica'

The captain of the Harriott II riverboat revealed that he has had “trouble” in the past with the group who were arrested and charged with assault for their actions in the Montgomery waterfront brawl. A fight broke out over the weekend along the dock after a deckhand asked the owners of a pontoon boat to move it a few feet, so that the Harriott II—which was carrying 227 passengers—could safely dock. The pontoon boat was partially blocking the riverboat’s designated space, the Montgomery Police chief previously said. The exchange, which was captured on video, quickly got out of hand when one of the men on the pontoon boat allegedly started getting physical with the deckhand. Three men and one woman have so far been arrested in connection with the incident: Richard Roberts, 48, Allen Todd, 23, Zachary Shipman, 25, and Mary Todd, 21. Capt Jim Kittrell told Alabama’s 93.1 radio station that this wasn’t the first time he had encountered the group. “This is the same group that comes every year. They’re from Selma. And, we’ve had trouble with them in the past, but just like jokey things,” he stated. He went into further detail about the group, citing one example from a few years ago while talking on CNN on Thursday. When the group came to Montgomery, the captain recalled, after a cruise, the riverboat crew tried to retrive “our golf cart that we used to get people up the hills that are handicapped or elderly.” But it was nowhere to be found. Mr Kittrell said he received a call from the Embassy Suites Hotel, saying the golf cart is in the hotel lobby. After being shown video footage of the cart entering the lobby, he said they “find out who it is,” and he called his boss, who “wanted me to press charges” because the property belonged to the city. However, police talked him out of it. Mr Kittrell recounted the police telling him at the time that it was “juust a little prank. Just let it slide.” So they did. But this time, the police didn’t let it slide. Mr Roberts had already been in custody with the Selma Police Department, while Mr Todd and Mr Shipman turned themselves in on Wednesday evening. Mary Todd handed herself in on Thursday and has been charged with assault in the third degree. However, they are still trying to get in touch with Reggie Gray, whom the police chief has described as “wielding that folding chair” in videos, with footage showing him allegedly hitting multiple people over the head. The police chief announced they were looking for him on Tuesday; on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Montgomery Police told The Independent that investigators will “certainly” find Mr Gray. On Wednesday, Mr Kittrell said he believed the attack was driven by race. “The white guys that attacked my deckhand—and he was a senior deckhand first mate—I can’t think of any other reason they attacked him other than it being racially motivated,” he said. However, the captain said, after the initial attack on the deckhand, the rest of the brawl did not fall along racial lines. On CNN on Thursday, Mr Kittrell expanded on that claim, saying, “I saw it like everybody else saw it. It looks like White people attacking a Black man. But, he added, “I don’t know the hearts of those men...Now, I do know the hearts of my crew. And my crew was frustrated because they couldn’t get to the dock” and protect the deckhand, Damien Pickett. The captain said he took Mr Pickett to the hospital after the attack, and although “he’s still having some headaches and stuff,” he said the deckhand is “doing well.” Police said they did not find enough evidence to support hate crime charges. Read More Alabama riverfront brawl suspects finally turn themselves in Alabama dockside brawl was racially motivated, riverboat captain says Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in Alabama

Supporters of former president Donald Trump heckled former vice president Mike Pence as a “traitor” as he visited the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Thursday. A video from Iowa Starting Line showed a fellow fairgoer at the former vice president for not being a true Christian. “Pence is a traitor every day,” she said. “Anybody who says they have a higher power, uses those words, he is not a Christian when you say higher power. We don’t buy it as believers, Pence. You are far from a Christian.” Trump supporters have long loathed Mr Pence - who indeed campaigns heavily on his staunch Christian beliefs - for his refusal to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on January 6. During the riot at the US Capitol, some supporters yelled “Hang Mike Pence.” Last week a grand jury handed down an indictment against Mr Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The indictment detailed how Mr Pence took “contemporaneous notes” in the days between the 2020 election and the January 6 riot. The indictment says that Mr Pence repeatedly told Mr Trump that he did not think he had the authority to overturn the election results. On 1 January 2021, Mr Trump reportedly told Mr Pence he was “too honest.” Mr Pence has since been selling merchandise with the words “too honest” and has repeated that he did not have authority to nullify the election results. But he has struggled in his campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. He consistently polls in the single digits and has not raised as much money as either Mr Trump or Florida Gov Ron DeSantis. Mr Pence said that enough people donated to his campaign from enough states for him to participate in the first Republican debate in Wisconsin later this month, Fox News reported. Read More Trump fumes about Jack Smith’s January 2024 date for Jan 6 trial ahead of hearing on protective order – latest Prosecutors seek Jan. 2 trial date for Donald Trump in his 2020 election conspiracy case

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa granted clemency to thousands of non-violent offenders, including his predecessor Jacob Zuma who

The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the “sudden and tragic” loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found after she vanished while going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air. “We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community,” the post read. “We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.” Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm Saturday. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. Morin’s body was found the following day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. The heartfelt letter, which was shared on Thursday in a post on the Facebook page of Rachel Morin’s sister Rebekah, thanked the community for its support and announced that a Celebration of Life service and a 5K run would be held in Morin’s honour thanks to the money raised. “Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come),” the family wrote. “And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.” The GoFundMe goal amount was raised to $65,000 to help pay for the arrangements and it has raised $41,612 as of Thursday. “If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart. When it’s sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope,” the letter continued. “As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter. Thank you for caring. Truly.” Morin’s family shared the letter with the update just a day after the Hartford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler vowed to bring the “heinous coward” who killed Morin to justice. He also confirmed police had yet to identify a “solid suspect” but said detectives have been working around the clock and that some of the “more than 100 tips” that have been submitted by the public “have been promising”. Read More Man who described grisly state of Rachel Morin’s body never actually saw it, sheriff says Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail Maryland sheriff calls out ‘heinous coward’ who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin

President Cyril Ramaphosa approved his release, extending the same to more than 9,000 low-risk prisoners.

South Africa’s Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. expects to finish maintenance on the first of two units at its

The dayslong wildfires ravaging Hawaii's Maui island have killed at least 53 people but the toll is expected to rise, officials said Thursday, warning the number of missing is unclear in a natural disaster the governor said could be the largest in state history.

Douglas, the tiny capital of the Isle of Man, might seem an unlikely destination for South African expats.

It is the latest signal of the major issues faced by the world's second largest economy.

Stocks in Asia were headed for a mixed open amid bets that Federal Reserve policy will remain tight

BBC research reveals that women in Africa spend up to 13% of their income on menstrual products.

Donald Trump said he would refuse to sign a Republican National Committee loyalty pledge required by any candidate wishing to participate in the party's first primary debate. He made the comments to Eric Bolling during an appearance on the Maga-friendly television network Newsmax, which had to end the interview with an awkward disclaimer reminding viewers that it accepts the results of the 2020 election. “I wouldn’t sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have certain people as somebody that I would endorse,” Mr Trump said, refusing to specify which of the candidates he would not endorse. The pledge requires signatories to agree to support whichever candidate becomes the Republican party nominee in 2024, according to The Hill. Mr Trump has said on several occasions that he may skip the first debate, which is scheduled for 23 August in Milwaukee. He has questioned why he should bother with the debate since he is the clear frontrunner, suggesting it would simply open opportunities for the other candidates to attack him an an attempt to boost their own polling. He told Newsmax that he would announce next week if he will participate. "I've already decided, and I'll be announcing something next week," Mr Trump said. "I haven't totally ruled it out." Mr Trump similarly refused to commit to backing the eventual Republican candidate during his campaign in 2015. During a primary debate that year, the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would back the nominee. Mr Trump was the only candidate to not raise his hand. The former president eventually relented and signed a loyalty pledge later that year. Mr Trump is not the first one to balk at the requirement; his opponent, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, told CNN last month that he would take the pledge "just as seriously as Donald Trump took it in 2016." At the end of the segment Newsmax was forced to issue a disclaimer reminding viewers that they were not contesting the results of the 2020 elections. "Alright folks," Mr Bolling said. "Now, just as a note: Newsmax has accepted the election results as legal and final." Newsmax began shying away from commenters who pushed 2020 election conspiracy theories after the company was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation. The network ultimately settled the lawsuit and began pulling the plug on interviews with election deniers like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Mr Trump still insists, without evidence, that the election was stolen. Read More Trump complains world has ‘never been nastier than it is now’ as cases against him proceed Trump and one co-defendant plead not guilty in superseding Mar-a-Lago indictment Trump and Biden tied in hypothetical 2024 rematch, poll finds Wisconsin judge allows civil case against fake Trump electors to proceed Iran transfers 5 Iranian-American prisoners to house arrest in step toward deal for ultimate release FEC moves toward potentially regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads