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Suspect in killing of judge who presided over divorce case found dead in rural Maryland

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

WILLIAMSPORT, Md. (AP) — A man suspected of killing a Maryland judge last week was found dead Thursday, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.Authorities believe Pedro Argote, 49, was angry about losing custody of his children when he shot and killed the judge who presided over his divorce case. The Oct. 19 attack unfolded outside the home of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.Law enforcement launched a search for Argote immediately after the shooting. They discovered his Mercedes SUV in a wooded area in Williamsport, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) southwest of Hagerstown, where the judge was shot.Authorities searched the area where the vehicle was found but concluded Argote wasn’t there. But officials said this morning they had returned to the area to conduct “additional evidentiary searches.”Argote’s body was found in a heavily wooded area about a mile from the SUV, officials said. They did not release a suspected cause of death.The Washington Coun...

A (far) right mess! EU extremist party fined for admin snafu

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

Failure to update its website just cost the extreme-right Identity and Democracy Party €47,000.The Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations slapped the EU-level umbrella party of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini, Alternative for Germany, and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang with a penalty of 5 percent of its annual budget for providing incorrect information about a board member.The authority, which ensures that the 10 European political parties follow the rules, is charged with imposing sanctions when parties “intentionally provide incorrect information,” said its director, Pascal Schonard, in a statement on Thursday.According to the authority, Identity and Democracy (ID) announced it had updated details on its board members in March 2022. However, it continued to refer to a former board member, whose name is redacted in the decision, in social media communications and on its website.ID first blamed tech problems for leaving the old name on the website, ...

Police took Army reservist suspected in Maine killings for evaluation after erratic behavior in July

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A U.S. Army reservist suspected of killing at least 18 people in Maine had been taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically in mid-July, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.The official said commanders in the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment became concerned in mid-July that Robert Card was acting erratically while the unit was training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.The official said military commanders became concerned about Card’s safety and asked for the police to be called. New York state police took Card to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for evaluation, the official said.The official was not authorized to publicly discuss information about the incident and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.A warrant is out for the arrest of Card, 40, in the attack in Lewiston that sent panicked bowlers scrambling&n...

Suspect in fatal shooting of Maryland judge has been found dead, sheriff’s office says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

(CNN) — A man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Maryland judge has been found dead, officials announced Thursday.The suspect, Pedro Argote, shot and killed Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Wilkinson on October 19, hours after the judge ruled against him in a child custody case, authorities said.Argote’s body was found in a heavily wooded area about a mile from where his vehicle was found on Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook Thursday.“On October 26, 2023, at approximately 11:00 AM, during an expanded evidentiary search in the Williamsport, MD area, a deceased person was located,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “The deceased individual has been positively identified as Pedro Argote, the suspect wanted for the murder of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.”A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday.Wilkinson, a county circuit court judge, was in his own driveway – with his ...

How companies are helping employees stuck between work and caring for aging parents

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

Matthew Boyle | Bloomberg News (TNS)Ellen Kessler was visiting her mother in Florida last year when things took a bad turn.“She called me at 3 a.m. and was just hysterical, frightened that someone was in the house,” Kessler, who was staying at a hotel nearby, said. “I got there, and it was like she was not the same person. I didn’t know what to do.”Concerned about leaving her then 91-year-old mother on her own, Kessler decided to bring her back with her to Maryland, which she said was “the worst mistake I ever made.” Being away from home exacerbated her mother’s anxiety and added a demanding burden to daily life for Kessler, a 60-year-old senior director at hotel chain Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.Kessler’s bind has become increasingly common. More than half the U.S. labor force has caregiving responsibilities outside of work, and some 37 million Americans can spend an average of nearly four hours a day looking after an elder, according to U.S. government data. Workers who tend to ...

Patriots down 2 players at practice Thursday, return DL Keion White

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots defensive lineman Keion White appeared at his first practice Thursday since suffering a concussion almost two weeks ago in a loss at Las Vegas.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots’ first-round pick being helped by ‘mirror check’ and practice reps New England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing former 1st-round WR to active roster New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots can’t take Demario Douglas off the field anymore New England Patriots | Patriots-Dolphins injury report: Tyreek Hill sits out Wednesday, Bill Belichick lists 12 injured New England Patriots | Source: Patriots re-signing Malik Cunningham to practice squad The rookie defensive lineman missed four straight practices and last weekend’s upset of the Bills due to injury. White was the only player missing at Wednesday’s practice.While White returned, the Patriots were d...

Report: Quran-burning protester is ordered to leave Sweden but deportation on hold for now

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden reportedly withdrew the residence permit of an Iraqi man who staged a series of public desecrations of the Quran this year but put his deportation on hold, saying his life would be in danger if he were returned to Iraq.Sweden’s Migration Agency made the decision this week after determining that Salwan Momika had provided false information in his application for asylum, Swedish broadcaster TV4 reported Thursday. An order of deportation was issued but placed on hold for security reasons, a Migration Agency official told the television station Thursday. Swedish media say Momika was granted a residence permit in 2021. “The decision was made yesterday and means that this person’s status and residence permit will be revoked and that he will be deported,” agency spokesman Jesper Tengroth was quoted as saying. However, Tengroth added that “this person risks being subjected to torture and inhuman treatment if he returns to his home country. We have therefore dec...

Son of federal judge in Puerto Rico pleads guilty to killing wife after winning new trial

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The son of a federal judge who was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his wife more than a decade ago pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday in a deal reached with Puerto Rican prosecutors during a retrial.Pablo Casellas had won a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that criminal cases require unanimous verdicts. At the time, suspects in Puerto Rico could be convicted by a minimum of nine jurors, and Casellas had been found guilty in an 11-1 verdict.Casellas was convicted in 2014 on first-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced to 109 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his wife in one of Puerto Rico’s most high-profile cases. Carmen Paredes, 46, was shot several times, including in the forehead and chest, in July 2012 at the couple’s upscale home where they lived with their two children.Casellas’ father is U.S. District Court Judge Salvador Casellas, a former Puerto Rico treasury secretary ap...

So Biden’s a no-show on the New Hampshire primary ballot. What happens next?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wasn’t successful in unseating New Hampshire from the first-in-the-nation primary slot it has held for more than a century, but his campaign’s announcement this week that he won’t appear on the state’s 2024 primary ballot has nonetheless added a new wrinkle to the contest and created complications for his campaign, state election officials, and voters.Although several key details about next year’s New Hampshire primary have yet to be determined, the event has begun to take shape.When is the 2024 New Hampshire primary?State law gives New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan exclusive authority to set the date for the 2024 primary, but he has yet to do so. For 40 years, it has been held the Tuesday following the Iowa caucuses, which are scheduled for Jan. 15. State law also says the primary must be held at least seven days before any similar contest. The South Carolina Democratic primary on Feb. 3 is the earliest contest on the Democra...

With map redrawn favoring GOP, North Carolina Democratic US Rep. Jackson to run for attorney general

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:52 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina announced a 2024 bid for state attorney general on Thursday, one day after the Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map for the state that would now situate him in a heavily GOP district. Jackson, a former local prosecutor, ex-state senator, Afghan war veteran and National Guard soldier, had in 2022 won an open U.S. House seat in a district in and around Charlotte that favored a Democrat. It was clear since he took office in January that Republicans could attempt to create new lines to push him out after only one term.“A group of politicians in North Carolina just redrew my congressional district to take me out. They’re going to replace me with one of their political allies,” Jackson said in a video announcing his decision. “That’s political corruption. And I’ve got news for them. I’m running for attorney general and I’m going to use that job to go after political corruptio...