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Federal judge who presided over rare Michigan death penalty trial dies at 79

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Robert Holmes Bell, a federal judge for 30 years whose trials included one that led to a rare death sentence in Michigan, has died. He was 79.Bell died Thursday, Michelle Benham, the court’s chief deputy clerk, said Friday. A cause was not disclosed.He was “one of the giants” on the federal bench, said Chris Yates, a judge on the state appeals court who often appeared in Bell’s courtroom as a defense lawyer.Bell was a judge in the Lansing area when President Ronald Reagan in 1987 appointed him to the U.S. District Court in western Michigan, based in Grand Rapids. He retired in 2017.Bell presided over many significant cases, but none was bigger than the 2002 trial of Marvin Gabrion, who was convicted of drowning a woman in a remote lake in a national forest in Newaygo County. Michigan outlawed the death penalty in 1847, but it is available under federal law. Federal prosecutors had the ability to charge Gabrion because Rachel Timmerman’s murder occurred on government property. ...

Former Supreme Court justice Louis LeBel remembered for eloquence, humour, intellect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Former colleagues of a long-time Supreme Court justice are remembering Louis LeBel as a strong legal mind who was kind with sharing his insights.The former justice died Thursday at the age of 83. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed LeBel to the country’s highest bench in 2000, where he served until his retirement in 2014.Justice Minister David Lametti said LeBel was an accomplished jurist who was dedicated to advancing the law.“I salute his service, which changed our country for the better,” he said on Twitter. “He will be missed.”Former justice minister Allan Rock, who worked with LeBel at the University of Ottawa, said the former justice “embodied every virtue we prize in our independent and impartial judiciary.”“Justice Lebel was a favourite among counsel because his humility and gentle sense of humour meant that lawyers would receive a thorough hearing, rigorously testing their arguments, but always one marked by...

Natalee Holloway disappearance suspect in court, charged with extorting victim’s mother

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in Natalee Holloway’s 2005 disappearance on the island of Aruba, walked shackled into an Alabama courtroom on Friday as her parents looked on. He pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to extort money from the missing teen’s mother in exchange for revealing where to find her daughter’s remains.Although he’s not on trial for harming Holloway, the extortion and wire fraud charges are the only alleged crimes that link the Dutch citizen to her disappearance on the final night of high school graduation trip with classmates. The 18-year-old was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was a student at an international school on the island where he grew up.Van der Sloot, now 35, was extradited Thursday from Peru where he’s serving a 28-year sentence after confessing to killing a Peruvian woman in 2010 — five years to the day after Holloway went missing.Natalee’s mother, father and brother were in the courtroom...

Man charged in Northwest Indiana high-speed crash that killed middle school teacher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

PORTAGE, Ind. — A man is facing several charges in connection with a deadly crash that killed a Northwest Indiana teacher in November.Lauren Thompson, 24, was killed in the six-car crash on Nov. 8 near Willowcreek Road and Lute Road in Portage. Police seek tips in crash that killed Northwest Indiana teacher; condemn ‘incorrect’ speculation On Thursday, Arthur Schmidt, 42, of Portage, was charged with reckless homicide and criminal recklessness, according to online court records.Through their investigation, detectives found the data recorder in Schmidt's car showed he was traveling at more than 100 mph at the time of the crash, according to a probable cause affidavit.Thompson was in her second year of teaching English at Chesterton Middle School when she was killed. ‘We are devastated’: Chesterton teacher dead following 6-vehicle crash; speed blamed “Lauren was a shining star on the CMS faculty and was loved by her students and fellow staff members,” Principal Mike Hamacher said ...

Southwest Side investors banking on success of film rich in diversity, drama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

CHICAGO — After spending decades in the financial services industry, a pair of Chicago businessmen are betting big on a new motion picture.A private screening of the new film, "Story Ave," is set to be held Saturday night at the Music Box Theater. The Chicago backers of the film, investment banker Martin Cabrera and business partner Robert Aguilar, say they hope the film opens the door to more talented Black and Brown actors and directors. Dan’s List of movies with the most satisfying endings "To see more people like us on the silver screen was important for us," Aguilar said. Set in New York, "Story Avenue" is a film about the "family you are born into versus the family you choose," says writer and director Aristotle Torres. Program teaches Chicago students financial literacy with real money "It's a surreal moment to share this film that's so close to my heart," Torres added.The film was critically acclaimed at the recent South by Southwest Film Festival. It's set for a nationa...

Chicago shoemaker is changing the shoemaking landscape, one stylish, size-friendly shoe at a time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

CHICGAO — A Chicago shoemaker is gaining the reputation as not only a highly sought after designer but the place to go for those with large feet, small feet and everything in between.Orders are coming in from all over the world to a homegrown Chicago shop named Mohop that creates women's shoes in 160 sizes.  Annie Mohaupt is the store’s co-founder."It really is kind of an honor to be able to make shoes for people who legitimately have been suffering without having any options," she said. "Ten percent of people are really not served at all by off the shelf shoes, length wise. They have to wear kids shoes or mens shoes. Sixty percent of women don't fit width wise in shoes.”More information at www.mohop.comMohop is on a mission to change the shoemaking landscape and completely embodies what it means to “walk a mile in their shoes.” And the shoes look like gorgeous artwork with all the color and detail."Every shoe we make is different. It's very rare to make two of the exact same which ...

Singer, model tried to traffic more than 200 pounds of cocaine in SUV: sheriff's office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

(KTLA) – A singer-songwriter from Van Nuys, California and her fitness influencer friend may be facing federal charges after they were arrested in Alabama last week while allegedly trafficking more than 200 pounds of cocaine, according to reports.Racquelle Dolores Anteola, 34, of Van Nuys and Melissa Dufour, 36, of Miramar, Florida, were arrested early Thursday while driving on Interstate 10 in Mobile County, Alabama, according to local media outlet Lagniappe.Racquelle Dolores Anteola of Van Nuys and Melissa Dufour are shown in these June 1, 2023, photos provided by the Mobile County Sheriff's Office. Anteola, who performs under the name Rahky, is a singer and rapper based in Los Angeles, according to her Instagram profile. Dufour, who goes by @melimacbarbie_on Instagram, is a fitness model and the owner and designer of a clothing brand called Sexy Sweats.Sheriff's officials told Lagniappe that the women were driving from Houston to Atlanta in a Ford Expedition with "hidden compartm...

Who is Nate Paul — the Austin real estate investor charged with 8 federal counts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

AUSTIN (TEXAS) – Nate Paul, the Austin real estate investor at the center of the Ken Paxton impeachment, was arrested on a federal warrant Thursday and indicted on eight charges related to making false statements and false reports to mortgage lending companies and credit unions. Nate Paul, Austin investor tied to Ken Paxton, charged with 8 federal counts This instance is one of many headlines Paul has created over the years. Some media coverage of Paul dates back to 2005, when he was a high school senior attending St. Michael's Academy in southwest Austin, balancing time between college applications and acting as CEO of several self-made businesses, per an early Paul profile in the Austin Business Journal. "Nate has the potential to be the next Michael Dell or Bill Gates if he continues on this course," Paul’s college counselor, Charlotte Knepp, told the ABJ at the time. And some could say Paul did not squander that potential. At 28, he became the youngest person to ever own ...

'Priced out:' Texans fed up with the politics of property taxes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After more than two decades in Liberty Hill, Lyndon Ebright and his wife have built a good life in their forever home."I've got a lot of sweat labor involved on the property," Ebright said. He works on wood and metal projects in his backyard shop while his wife tends to a vegetable garden just under the patio he built.But those improvements, and the furious development of the greater Austin area, are taking their toll on their tax bills."I'll be priced out of the house," Ebright said. "I'll be forced to sell, and I don't want to be forced to sell just because I gotta pay my taxes."Ebright is recently retired and on a fixed income. They have no debt and have paid off their house, but Ebright is still concerned about their long-term stability because of one creeping cost — property taxes.In 2018, the Williamson Central Appraisal District valued Ebright's home at $71,506. This year, that value has ballooned to $137,971."It's a massive increase in five years. An unrea...

Contributions to Austin Energy could go toward students experiencing homelessness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Energy is working with the City of Austin to help some of the community's most vulnerable.While paying their bills, Austin Energy customers can contribute to public education. The contributions would then get handed out to school districts to provide support to students who are experiencing homelessness."It was decided that basic needs, any funds, that came into the school districts would be spent on basic needs," advocate and volunteer Scott Johnson told KXAN.Furthermore, he said those funds would go toward school uniforms, as well as other types of assistance, such as shelter and food.Austin Energy said the program is still in the early stages. Austin City Council approved its launching in December 2022.