CHICAGO — A Cook County judge who made a controversial decision to release a man on electronic monitoring weeks before he killed his estranged wife is not hearing domestic violence cases due to threats he has received, according to a statement from the chief judge’s office. Judge Thomas Nowinski on Oct. 9 denied a Cook County prosecutor’s petition to detain Constantin Beldie, 57, on accusations that he threw her to the ground and held her in his car, finding that the state didn’t meet its burden under the law for Beldie to be held in jail. Six weeks later, Beldie killed Lacramioara Beldie, 54, before he was found dead, according to police, setting off an outcry from advocates against domestic violence who called for Nowinski to be reassigned. In a lengthy statement released by Chief Judge Tim Evans Tuesday evening, Evans said the death revealed “gaps in policies and procedures” the office is seeking to address to better protect victims of domestic violence. He also said he is reaching out to incoming State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to “strengthen collaboration” between the two offices. “My office is currently investigating to determine whether any employee failed to follow policies and procedures in this case,” the statement said. “We pledge to provide additional training to all judges who hear domestic violence cases and petitions for orders of protection, including the Pretrial Division judges who hear these cases on weekends.” Evans, though, in the statement, indirectly pointed to the prosecutors on the case, and said that a “preliminary examination of this case indicate the court was provided incomplete information.” A court transcript of the Oct. 9 proceeding showed that Nowinski criticized the case work, calling it “a little sloppy.” He wrote that judges make “difficult decisions with the best information they have.” “While the higher courts have authority to review those decisions, interdivisional judicial transfers and assignments are never a result of a judge’s independent decision-making,” the statement said. But because of anonymous threats, Evans said, Nowinski is not hearing cases involving domestic violence or orders of protection. Nowinski also faced sharp criticism because he denied an emergency protective order for the mother of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins against Crosetti Brand, who is accused of stabbing Jayden to death in an attack on his mother. Evans said his office is working to strengthen electronic monitoring protocols, including for technology that allows victims who have sought an order of protection to install software on their phone. ©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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LONDON (AP) — Brighton had most of the chances but could not find the net in a 0-0 draw with Brentford that extended the south coast club’s winless run in the Premier League to six games on Friday. It was a frustrating night for the home side and especially Julio Enciso. The Paraguay striker had a host of opportunities to score but couldn’t make them count. Along with Southampton, Brentford has the worst away record in the league with seven losses and two draws and it was easy to see why in this toothless performance. Brentford had an early goal from Yoane Wissa ruled out for offside and, although it came a bit more into the game in the second half, it failed to pressure Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson, who made his Premier League debut eight minutes before halftime when Mark Flekken went off with a thigh injury. One bright spot for the home side was the return of winger Solly March. He came on as a late substitute to make his first appearance for Brighton since injuring a knee against Manchester City 14 months ago. The result leaves Brighton in 10th place with 26 points, one spot and two points ahead of the Bees. Arsenal was hosting Ipswich in Friday's other game in the Premier League, ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer The Associated PressChargers RB J.K. Dobbins unlikely to play against Falcons because of knee injury
My older brother is a New York Jets fan, and we talk after every Miami Dolphins and Jets game. He couldn’t see the game on Sunday, so he just saw the score and how it went to overtime. He said it looked like a typical Dolphins vs. Jets game. I said, “Yes, it was. The Dolphins should have lost the game on Sunday because the Jets were the better team, but the Jets have stupid coaches, and they bailed the Dolphins out.” I was very disappointed in the Dolphins’ defense on Sunday. They were bad, and yes, they had a 5-yard loss and a sack on back-to-back plays on the final possession. Kendall Fuller was able to get Devante Adams out of bounds to keep time on the clock, but for the most part, the Jets’ offense had its way with the Dolphins. It started up front where the Jets don’t have a very good offensive line, but they ran the ball decently against the Dolphins with two rookie running backs drafted late in the draft. The Dolphins were giving up 4 yards a carry, making you wonder why the Jets didn’t keep running it. The Dolphins were missing a tackle and not getting much push up front. Aaron Rodgers picked apart the Dolphins all day long, throwing his first 300-yard game in over two years. Adams and Garrett Wilson looked like the duo the Jets had been looking for all season. The Dolphins had no answers for them. I feel like the Dolphins have more holes than ever on defense, and they are getting labeled as being soft , and it’s more than justified. The Dolphins don’t set the tone up front and get pushed, especially against good teams, but the Jets aren’t even an average team. Our defensive line lacks physicality as a whole and can’t dominate up front. I knew it would be different this year after losing Christian Wilkins , but the Dolphins banked on 38-year-old Calais Campbell and many guys on one-year contracts. Campbell and Zach Seiler have played well, but the other guys don’t give the effort those guys offer. The Dolphins have to find some younger, bigger, and more physical players to compliment Seiler on the defensive line next year, or we are going to see the same issues upfront. The Dolphins also need better linebackers. Yes, Jordan Brooks has played well but missed some tackles on Sunday. Anthony Walker has provided a little spark after moving on from David Long but has durability issues. The Dolphins need to find an inside linebacker who can run sideline to sideline and make tackles—one who doesn’t take bad angles, over-pursue, and miss the ball carrier. It’s been a while since the Dolphins have had that type of linebacker. Instead, they have had undersized guys who aren’t physical enough against the better teams. How many games this year have we seen the Dolphins miss over ten tackles? Too many. That’s why they were overmatched by the Green Bay Packers, and it cost them the game against the Arizona Cardinals on their final drive to win earlier this year. And the safeties are horrible as a group. Jordan Poyer needs to retire because he can’t play anymore, and it is so clear every time you watch him play. He’s not as fast as he used to be, and he is a liability. Jevon Holland is supposed to be our blue-chip safety for years to come, and his contract is up after the season. Well, I would tell him to take a walk after the season because his play has been uninspiring to say the least. He takes bad angle,s and he and Poyer are constantly having communication issues in the secondary. The Dolphins have to tear down that position as well and more physical ball-hawking safeties. I’m not going to place the blame on defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver because it’s an easy cop-out. I blame the person who put this team together, and that’s general manager Chris Grier. I don’t know why he thought this defense would be good signing older players and a bunch of scrap-free agents to one-year deals. He should have done a better job last offseason. If he returns next year, this team currently has ten draft pick,s and he needs to use at least half of them to rebuild this defense. It needs to get younger, and it needs players that are tough-minded and physical. This group as a whole doesn’t have it. They also need to get faster. I understand the Dolphins went into the season without their top pass rushers from a season ago coming off season-ending injuries, but that’s on Grier for not stocking up the defense better. This side of the ball went through change with free-agent losses, and it needs more change next year. If they don’t, then it’s going to be the same soft defense. You can change the defensive coordinator, but that would be lazy putting lipstick on the pig. If the Dolphins want to shed the soft label on defense, go find more tough-minded players. This article first appeared on Dolphins Talk and was syndicated with permission.Aerospace Testing Market worth $6.68 Billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 4.8%
(The Center Square) – Billionaire and advisor to President-elect Donald Trump Elon Musk was denied by a judge this week a $56 billion compensation package for his work as CEO of Tesla, the successful electric automaker that pioneered EV technology in the U.S. The package had been approved by more than 70% of Tesla's board of directors. A Tesla shareholder who owned just nine shares of stock in the company sued to block the 2018 compensation agreement. In addition to blocking the package this week, the judge in the case, Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, awarded the plaintiff's attorneys $345 million, which Reuters reported is “one of the largest fee awards ever in securities litigation.” The Associated Press reported that “the fee award amounts to almost exactly half the current record $688 million in legal fees awarded in 2008 in litigation stemming from the collapse of Enron.” The ruling was widely criticized as government overreach into the private sector. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARKinvest, called the ruling a "mockery." "Adding judicial insult to injury, Delaware Judge McCormick has ordered #Tesla shareholders to pay the plaintiff’s lawyers $345 million! The plaintiff owned 9 shares of $TSLA," Wood wrote on X. "McCormick is making a mockery of the sense of fairness essential to our American judicial system." Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman wrote: "This decision and the payola for lawyers is absurd. We are going to see a migration of Corporate America from Delaware." The unique compensation package was high risk, high reward. If Musk hit all of his target goals to make the company hugely successful, as he did, then he would be awarded the compensation package. If he did not hit those marks, he would receive zero dollars. Musk and Tesla vowed to appeal. McCormick first voided the pay agreement in January, saying it was unfair and that the Tesla board did not negotiate well enough with Musk. In response, a supermajority of more than 70% of Tesla shareholders voted to approve the payment package for Musk earlier this year, but again McCormick sided this week against Musk and Tesla shareholders. Musk called the ruling a form of “lawfare.” “Shareholders should control company votes, not judges,” Musk wrote on X. Many other Tesla shareholders blasted the decision and the attorney fee decision. "The lawyers, judges, and attorneys did not create net-positive shareholder value from this clownery," Alex Guichet, who said he is a Tesla employee, wrote on X. "They do not deserve a single dollar. We employees did. We supported the shareholder vote with our own yes votes too. This is wrong on so many levels." Shareholder Jeremy Goldman wrote: "The majority of the owners of the company have made their desires known and it's just crazy that a single judge can basically say haha, no. I don't really care what you want. Also pay a few hundred million for the privilege of being ignored." The plaintiff's attorneys praised the ruling. “We are pleased with Chancellor McCormick’s ruling, which declined Tesla’s invitation to inject continued uncertainty into Court proceedings and thank the Chancellor and her staff for their extraordinary hard work in overseeing this complex case,” attorneys from Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossmann, the firm representing Musk’s opponents, said in a statement. A November 2024 study published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform found tort costs amounted to $529 billion in 2022, or 2.1 percent of U.S. GDP. The study found that excessive tort costs hurt the economy. "In addition to having a substantial aggregate cost on the economy, a large portion of the total tort-related expenditures go toward litigating and defending claims and lawsuits rather than compensating claimants,” authors of the study wrote.
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