referral code top646
REFORM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ruled that the family of former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr., who died in law enforcement custody in Alabama, can pursue a lawsuit alleging his death was the result of excessive force. Foster, a former New Orleans Saints defensive end, died on Dec. 6, 2021, three days after being arrested and taken to jail in rural Pickens County for alleged speeding and attempting to elude police. A judge ordered Foster taken to a medical facility in Tuscaloosa for a mental evaluation. Foster was found unresponsive in the back of a law enforcement vehicle when he arrived at the facility. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. His widow, Pamela Foster, filed a lawsuit against officers at the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and jail saying Foster had been beaten, shocked with a Taser and strangled while at the jail. The defendants then asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon ruled Thursday refused to dismiss allegations of excessive force and failure to intervene. Axon dismissed other portions of the lawsuit. The ruling came a day before the third anniversary of Foster’s death. Foster appeared in 17 games for the Saints in 2013 and 2014.
CHENNAI: Floral tributes were paid to DMDK Founder and actor-politician Vijayakanth on his first death anniversary, which was being observed as a Guru Pooja, on Saturday. Leaders of various political parties, including DMDK General Secretary and the late actor's wife Premalatha Vijayakanth paid tributes at his memorial at the Party office at Koyambedu in the city, where his mortal remains were laid to rest. Thousands of DMDK activists, clad in black shirts, arrived from various parts of Tamil Nadu and thronged the party office to pay their tributes to Vijayakanth on the occasion, resulting in traffic snarls on the arterial road. It was virtually a sea of humanity, as the party workers and the general public started arriving right from early in the morning in all possible modes of transport, choking the busy stretch. Meanwhile, police denied permission for the DMDK to take out a silent procession from the party office to mark the occasion, resulting in jostling between the party cadres and the police personnel, who were deployed in large numbers, preventing them, leading to some tension. Police officials on the spot held talks with Vijayakanth's brother-in-law and Deputy General Secretary LK Sudeesh and also the late actor's son Vijay Prabhakar, to find an amicable solution. However, defying the ban, the DMDK cadres took out a procession following which police detained them. DMDK office-bearer R Parthasarathy said though the party had officially issued a letter seeking permission for the rally, there was no reply and the permission was denied at the last minute. "Had they rejected our plea, we would have gone to the court and got permission," he said. The DMDK had invited leaders of almost all political parties, including the ruling DMK headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin, allies of the DMK, Opposition AIADMK and other parties, including the BJP, PMK and Vijay’s TVK for the occasion. Meanwhile, HR&CE Minister PK Sekarbabu urged the public and media not to exaggerate the controversy surrounding the DMDK’s rally to mark Vijayakanth's first death anniversary, which proceeded despite Chennai city police denying permission. Speaking to the reporters after paying respects at Vijayakanth’s memorial at Koyambedu on behalf of DMK, Sekarbabu said, “Although permission was not granted, the rally was conducted peacefully; don’t exaggerate this.” CM, others hail Captain in their tributes Chennai: Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin, in his tributes, praised Vijayakanth as a friend and hailed his 'pure love.' The late leader, who had no blemish in his heart, continued to live in people's hearts, the Chief Minister said. Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Hindu Religious &Charitable Endowments Minister PK Sekarbabu were among the leaders who visited Vijayakanth's 'samadhi' on the DMDK headquarters premises here at Koyambedu and laid wreaths. VK Sasikala, confidante of late Tamil Nadu CM and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, AIADMK leaders D Jayakumar and P Benjamin, BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai, senior Saffron party leader Tamilisai Soundararajan and NTK leader Seeman, paid homage to Vijayakanth, hailed as 'captain' by his admirers.Trudeau's comments on Kamala Harris 'not helpful,' premiers say, as Musk blasts PM
NoneNoneThe family of a 2-year-old girl killed by her mother's boyfriend in 2022 has sued the state and a South Hill day care, alleging that the two systems meant to protect the toddler failed. A social worker found the girl's body in the hallway of the Parkland apartment where she lived on March 11, 2022. She died from blunt-force trauma to her head, The News Tribune reported, and medical examiners found she had too many injuries to record. The family's lawsuit is against the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and against the Love and Laughter Learning Center. The day care and a spokesperson for DCYF have not responded to The News Tribune's request for comment. Attorney Raymond J. Dearie, Jr., with the Dearie Law Group, is one of the lawyers representing the family. "They don't want this to happen to another little girl, another little child," he said. "And they want some justice for Sarai." The girl's grandmother, Danielle Benson, is suing as the personal representative of the toddler's estate. "This was a complete system breakdown," Dearie said. "They're hoping that, in Sarai's name, we can do better as a society, as a community." The lawsuit, filed Dec. 3 in Pierce County Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages. It gives this account of what happened: Hospital workers found injuries such as scars, burns and bite marks on Sarai in 2021. DCYF found that Sarai's mother was letting the man she was in a relationship with, Augustino Seu Maile, abuse the girl. They removed the child and put her in the care of her aunt and uncle. Later that year, DCYF returned the girl to her mother, with supervision, and with the requirement that they not have contact with Maile, among other stipulations. The mother continued contact with Maile, and he kept abusing the child. "We believe any basic, competent investigation would have revealed that he was still abusing Sarai," Dearie said. "... Fundamentally, how on Earth did you miss something that seemed to be so obvious?" Sarai started going to the Love & Laughter Learning Center & School Kids Clubhouse in January 2022. Workers at the day care were worried about Sarai when she showed up with injuries, including black eyes, the lawsuit says. They allegedly did not report the injuries to police or to DCYF, as required by state law. Directors of the facility allegedly said they would "take care" of the concerns but also did not report the injuries to police or DCYF. "There was no communication, and in this case the evidence shows that the day care facility, through its employees and its managers, failed to carry out one of its most fundamental responsibilities in protecting kids, and that's functioning as a mandatory reporter," Dearie told The News Tribune. Manslaughter sentencing A judge sentenced Maile to more than 16 years in prison earlier this year. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three counts of second-degree assault of a child, The News Tribune reported. The assault charges were for hurting Sarai's brothers. He told the court at sentencing that Sarai's death was an accident. Sentencing Judge Angelica Williams disputed that and said that Sarai and her siblings had suffered 15 months of torture. A judge sentenced the girl's mother, Jharmaine Baker, to six years in prison in June 2023 after she pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment and two counts of second-degree assault of a child. Benson, Sarai's grandmother, told the court at Maile's sentencing that Sarai "was a fierce little girl," who had been excited for her birthday. They were going to go shopping and get manicures and pedicures to celebrate Sarai turning 3. Maile killed the girl a month before her birthday. 'Complete system overwhelm' The state publishes reports, called child fatality reviews, when a child under state supervision dies. Among other things, the committee that reviewed Sarai's death discussed "what they perceived to be a complete system overwhelm for DCYF and agency partners, such as law enforcement." The agency's "field staff did what they could with the available resources," the report says. The review committee also discussed "the loss of collective knowledge and expertise within DCYF due to recent staff turnover and vacancy rates." The committee found "that turnover in this office led to multiple case transfers and oversight by different supervisors during the course of the CFWS (Child Family Welfare Services) case" and "identified the importance of new field staff having the opportunity to learn through the transfer of knowledge from veteran field staff and supervisors." The report said that DCYF's domestic-violence training is good, but that "no current services are explicitly offered for physical abuse cases or cases involving a parental failure to protect from physical abuse." The group also "wondered if historical racism impacted the mother's willingness to engage with a government agency" and "discussed the importance of DCYF building connections with culturally relevant communities and service providers as a mechanism to reduce barriers for parents accessing services." Among other things, they recommended that DCYF hire a domestic-violence expert to work with caseworkers. "I would hope that those recommendations are being followed," Dearie said. "At this point, there is no way for me or the family to know if they've made any changes following those recommendations." Part of their lawsuit, he said, is to get those answers. ___ (c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Monster Kitchen executive chef David Wykes is looking forward to a big 2025 in hospitality. Picture by Keegan Carroll This week, Monster Kitchen and Bar shocked Canberra foodies by announcing that it was giving up the vegetarian way of life for an omnivore menu. Black Friday Sale Subscribe Now! Login or signup to continue reading All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue The reason? Quite simply, guests - both Canberrans and those staying in the attached Ovolo Hotel - wanted to see animal-based protein on the menu. "We're hoping to go basically back to what Monster used to be, which was a fine dining restaurant that was edgy and fun," Monster's executive chef David Wykes said. "Vegetarian worked well for a little while, and then it got to a point where we started losing people because of the vegetarianism . "So we're not necessarily taking the vegetarian meals off, we're just putting protein back on. We're just trying to be more accessible to everyone involved, especially because we have a lot of corporate people and a lot of hotel guests who come in who want protein and that's where we were losing a bit of business." It's unusual to switch things up this dramatically, with the festive season bringing in plenty of functions that need to be catered for while also navigating the preparation of a new menu. But since the past 12 months have been challenging for the hospitality sector, responding to what customers are saying is perhaps more important than ever. "We're changing a very core concept so whether or not it's received well or not is still to be seen," Wykes said. Monster Kitchen executive chef David Wykes is looking forward to a big 2025 in hospitality. Picture by Keegan Carroll "There will always be complaints. We know there will be people who are upset at the fact we're not strictly vegetarian anymore, but we're just hoping we just need to see how the market plays out because we don't really know. "We don't know if we're going to be busy for the next two months or if we are going to be busy until halfway through December. We have no idea." According to stats from OpenTable, 2025 is set to be a promising year for hospitality. It would be a relief for many eateries, and while it does rely on easing pressure on the cost of living, dining out is the top thing Aussies will spend any discretionary income on when they have it. More than half (58 per cent) of Australians plan to dine out more next year, and more than half (59 per cent) of Aussies say they'll spend more on dining out next year. "Eating out is not just this functional thing, where I need to have some food today, so let's get our job done at a restaurant," OpenTable's Drew Bowering said. Monster Kitchen executive chef David Wykes is looking forward to a big 2025 in hospitality. Picture by Keegan Carroll "People are actually treating restaurants for what restaurants want, which is life experience, not just the consumption of food. And that's why people are looking for these unique dining experiences as well. And that's why they're happy to be more because it's essentially entertainment." OpenTable saw a 9 per cent increase in experience bookings in 2024 and its consumer research findings found 41 per cent of Aussies are looking to try experiential dining more in 2025. Top experiences diners are on the lookout for include tasting menus (39 per cent), special deals/promotional offers (32 per cent), bottomless brunch (31 per cent) and dinner and a show (30 per cent). "Meals at local eateries are still the core dining experience that people want - supporting and eating locally is something actually that's been on the rise a lot over the last 12 months, anecdotally," Mr Bowering said. Monster Kitchen and Bar is bringing back the omnivore menu after four years of a vegetarian-only offering. Picture by Keegan Carroll "But when people do choose to go out for an experience ... they're like 'Let's look at this place and look at the options they have. Is there a chef's table? Is there a set menu?' "And depending on what demographic you're talking about, this is where restaurants are very smart to play so keenly into how important social media is in dining these days as well. "If you've got something that's an experience that, let's be frank, is more Instagrammable than just standard a la carte choice, then people are very drawn to that kind of thing." Mr Bowering said while customers may be keen to find a bargain when it comes to their fine dining options, they're more likely to find a limited-time experience or offer. "The margins are paper thin for restaurants," he said. "What restaurants prefer to be able to do is to entice people, or attract people into the restaurants through the value that they add. So it's more a case of come along and it's champagne on arrival, or come along this time, and then the loyalty bonus for returning. There's an email marketing element to that as well. "That's where we see a lot of collabs as well. You get a lot of restaurants saying we've got this chef from this other restaurant from down the road or in another city or country, and they're coming in and cooking for a week." Share Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email Copy Amy Martin Canberra Times lifestyle reporter As the lifestyle reporter, I love finding out what makes people tick and giving insight into the different ways that you can enjoy the city we live in. Email: amy.martin@canberratimes.com.au As the lifestyle reporter, I love finding out what makes people tick and giving insight into the different ways that you can enjoy the city we live in. Email: amy.martin@canberratimes.com.au More from Canberra Convicted child sex offender hired by government-funded legal service 15m ago Don't worry about Hastie's tough talk, we've got actual crises to prepare for 15m ago No comment s What's happened and what's ahead for the APS 15m ago No comment s Property forecast: rental market uncertain heading into 2025 15m ago No comment s A stunning feat of democracy went unnoticed. A telling sign of Australia's literacy 15m ago No comment s Ratings shouldn't figure in ABC decisions. So we're owed some explanations 15m ago No comment s Newsletters & Alerts View all DAILY Your morning news Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. Loading... WEEKDAYS The lunch break Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Loading... DAILY Sport The latest news, results & expert analysis. Loading... WEEKDAYS The evening wrap Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Loading... WEEKLY Note from the Editor Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Loading... WEEKLY FootyHQ Love footy? We've got all the action covered. Loading... DAILY Early Look At David Pope Your exclusive preview of David Pope's latest cartoon. Loading... AS IT HAPPENS Public Service News Don't miss updates on news about the Public Service. Loading... WEEKLY Explore Travel Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Loading... WEEKLY Property Get the latest property and development news here. Loading... WEEKLY What's On Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Loading... WEEKLY Weekend Reads We've selected the best reading for your weekend. Loading... WEEKLY Times Reader's Panel Join our weekly poll for Canberra Times readers. Loading... WEEKDAYS The Echidna Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Loading... TWICE WEEKLY The Informer Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Loading... WEEKLY Motoring Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. Loading... TWICE WEEKLY Voice of Real Australia Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. Loading... AS IT HAPPENS Breaking news alert Be the first to know when news breaks. Loading... DAILY Today's Paper Alert Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Loading... DAILY Your favourite puzzles Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Loading...
RALEIGH, N.C. — The State Board of Elections on Wednesday voted mostly along party lines to dismiss Republican Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of over 60,000 ballots cast in the North Carolina Supreme Court election. Griffin, who trails his Democratic opponent, Allison Riggs, by over 700 votes, made a variety of legal arguments claiming that ineligible voters were allowed to participate in the election — potentially changing the outcome. The board disagreed, rejecting all of Griffin’s protests. “The idea that someone could have been registered to vote, came to vote and then has their vote discarded is anathema to the democratic system and simply cannot be tolerated,” Board Chair Alan Hirsch, a Democrat, said. The board’s Republicans voted against dismissing some of the protests, saying they would’ve preferred to proceed to a further hearing to gather more evidence. After the hearing, Riggs told reporters she was grateful that all lawful votes would be counted. “These are eligible voters,” she said. “My job is now — and will continue to be, because the voters of North Carolina saw fit to keep me in my seat — is to defend the constitutional rights of North Carolinians and to do so with no regard for political ideology, with no regard for political goals or dreams or aspirations.” The chair of the NC GOP, Jason Simmons, blasted the board’s ruling in a statement released after the vote. “Unsurprisingly, the most partisan State Board of Elections in history has once again failed the people of North Carolina,” he said. “The board’s continued efforts to engineer political outcomes for Democrats is shameful. We will review the board’s decision and reserve the right to any future actions to protect the integrity of our elections.” The board’s rulings are the latest development in a race that still does not have an official winner over a month after Election Day. A statewide machine recount and a partial hand recount of the results both affirmed Riggs’ lead, but the board could not declare a winner until hearing Griffin’s protests. Democrats have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate the protests, arguing that they could disenfranchise valid voters. Now, the protests could head to state court. State law allows Griffin to appeal the board’s rejection to Wake County Superior Court. From there, the case could work its way all the way up to the Supreme Court itself. The board also rejected election protests filed by several Republicans who lost legislative races. That included Granville County Rep. Frank Sossamon, whose loss to Democrat Bryan Cohn was decisive in breaking the GOP’s veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly. Most of the board’s votes split 3-2 along party lines. Griffin had requested that a Democratic member of the board, Siobhan Millen, recuse herself from the case because her husband is a partner at the law firm representing Riggs. Hirsch said he concluded that Millen did not have a conflict and would be able to participate in the hearing. He noted in a memo that the law firm had an ethical screen shielding Millen’s husband from any matters relating to Riggs. “Given these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for Member Millen to be removed from consideration of this matter,” Hirsch wrote. State lawmakers approved a new law last month that would shift control of the State Board of Elections to the GOP by stripping incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of his appointment power and transferring it to the newly elected state auditor, Republican Dave Boliek. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed that bill, but the House is set to vote on overriding his veto on Wednesday. What did Griffin’s protests argue? While some of Griffin’s protests dealing with factual allegations were considered at the local level, the majority of his protests dealt not with specific allegations of fraud — but rather with legal arguments about voter eligibility that have so far been rejected by state and federal courts. The State Board of Elections took jurisdiction over all protests dealing with legal issues and heard arguments from attorneys for Riggs and Griffin at a hearing on Wednesday. Attorneys for Griffin argued that the board misapplied state law and allowed ineligible voters to participate in the election. “We filed these protests because we believe the winners of these elections should be determined by eligible voters and only eligible voters,” Griffin’s attorney, Craig Schauer, told the board. Ray Bennett, Riggs’ lawyer, argued that Griffin’s protests sought to institute new voter requirements after the fact, throwing out legitimate votes in the process. “The election protests here violate a bedrock principle so basic you learn it in elementary school: If you lose, you don’t try to change the rules so you can claim that you won,” he said. The most common reason Griffin challenged voters was his allegation that the voter did not have a driver’s license number or Social Security number attached to their voter registration. In his legal brief filed with the board, Griffin’s lawyer argued that requiring this information was a “decades-old feature of American election law that protects the integrity of our elections.” The Republican National Committee also made this argument in a lawsuit filed this summer which sought to purge 225,000 voters from the rolls. A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump rejected part of the RNC’s argument, though the case is still ongoing. Stacy “Four” Eggers, a Republican on the board, called the issue a “self-inflicted wound,” noting that the board had been made aware that its registration form did not clearly indicate to voters that they were required to provide the information. A new form was created last year to make the requirement more clear, but the board did not attempt to collect the information from voters who already registered without providing it. Democrats on the board said this was not a legitimate reason to throw out the votes, especially since all voters still had to show ID in this election. “There’s nothing those individuals could have done — as far as they could tell, they were properly registered,” Hirsch said. Bennett also noted that Griffin’s attorneys had not actually identified any voters on their lists who were ineligible to vote, based on current state law. Strach, one of Griffin’s lawyers, conceded this point, but said it was because the board hadn’t provided sufficient data for their analysis. Griffin also argued that the board should not count votes from adult children of North Carolina residents living abroad who have never resided in the state. A state law passed in 2011 explicitly permits those voters to participate in the state’s elections, but Griffin argued that that law violates the state constitution. The RNC made the same argument earlier this year, but had its lawsuit rejected by a state court. The final protest category before the board on Wednesday argued that votes from military and overseas voters who do not provide voter ID should not be counted. An administrative rule exempts these voters from the ID requirement, but Griffin argued that the rule violates state law. The board’s Republicans joined the Democratic majority to unanimously reject this protest, finding that the rule was binding. An N&O analysis of Griffin’s protests found that Black registered voters were twice as likely to have their votes challenged as white voters. ©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.