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Philippine court acquits former justice minister of drug charges after key witnesses said they lied

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A former Philippine opposition senator and justice minister was acquitted of drug charges Friday after key witnesses recanted and said they had lied about her involvement in narcotics trafficking.Leila de Lima, 63, remained jailed, however, as she has one outstanding charge against her. De Lima has been detained since 2017 on drug charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. His campaign left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead and sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.Duterte, who has insisted on de Lima’s guilt, left office last June at the end of his turbulent six-year term.Trial court judge Abraham Alcantara said in his ruling that a former senior police official’s recantation led to his decision to acquit de Lima.“Without his testimony, the crucial link to establish con...

Austin property owner finds ankle monitor on his roof

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A south Austin property owner said he is fed up and concerned after he found an ankle monitor on the roof of his business."We put up the fence on Tuesday," said Peter Morales as he walked through his property on South Lamar.Morales noticed someone had recently moved into the alley on his property, leaving the area trashed."Laptops and a bunch of bags, and needles and drugs," said Morales as he showed video of the camp. "I actually had to hire someone to do the removal"He also found an ankle monitor on the roof of his business, with bedding and an area he said looked like someone was living at.Morales said he called police who stopped by to escort someone off his property.Morales said an ankle monitor was picked up by a detective, but so far he has not heard who the person was or why they were required to wear the monitoring device."Is there a predator or violent criminal sleeping on top of my building?" Morales said.He said whoever was living on his roof also damaged...

Jose Miranda says demotion to Saints has been difficult: ‘The whole team was struggling.’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

The latest episode of “The Reluctant Saint” took center stage at CHS Field on Thursday night, with Jose Miranda joining Trevor Larnach as co-star.The exiled Twins hitters were in the heart of the Saints’ lineup in an 8-7 win over Indianapolis, with Miranda playing third base and Larnach serving as the designated hitter. And just as Larnach said earlier in the week, Miranda feels that while he has had his struggles, it was disappointing that management decided to send him down.“The whole team was struggling,” Miranda said. “It was a tough stretch for everyone up there. We had a really tough road trip. It’s tough; at the end of the day you don’t want to be here, you want to be in the big leagues. Especially after last year and making the Opening Day roster.“But I just have to put my work in here and get back to the bigs. I just have to come here with a good mentality and get better both offensively and defensively.”Miranda was hitting .220 with three home runs and 13 RBIs when he was ...

Proposed $5.5 million water district for Poestenkill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

POESTENKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) - It has been more than two years since PFAS were found in Poestenkill drinking water and tonight NEWS10 was at a public meeting where a new water district is being presented followed by public comment. Siena student, bus driver who helped during medical episode reunite Dozens filled the Poestenkill fire house as the Laberge group presented a $5.5 million solution to the unhealthy water supply. Nearly 60% of that bill would be covered by grants, but that still leaves the town and residents on the hook for the rest.   It's now causing sticker shock for many in this small community.“People you are being flim flammed. You want to be flim flammed, go along with these people,” said Paul Plant.It will cost all property owners nearly $1000 a year, whether they are connected to the system or not. Staying safe during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month “The question is, is it affordable, are we paying the right cost?” asked Greg Pattenaude.“$1,000 a yea...

Moving past controversy, Anheuser-Busch plans to recover losses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Anheuser-Busch's distributors from around the country met in St. Louis on Thursday. They heard firsthand about changes being made regarding the Bud Light transgender controversy.Anheuser-Busch invited the distributors to the downtown Hyatt hotel for a yearly meeting on summer marketing plans. It was the first such meeting since transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s viral social media posts with Bud Light in early April. She received a special edition can with her picture on it. Market analysts report Bud Light sales are still down more than 20% for the past month. Bud Light boycotts appear to be driving down sales of fellow Anheuser-Busch brands like Budweiser and Michelob Ultra, which are down but not as sharply.  Man convicted of killing St. Louis County police officer challenges guilty verdict “It can be risky for a brand to jump in and align itself with a certain cause, even with the best intentions,” said Dustin Smith, a business professor at Webster U...

North St. Louis residents unite to fight crime ahead of summer  

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Residents from two blocks on two north St. Louis streets joined together for a neighborhood meeting at the O’Fallon Park Rec Complex in north St. Louis on Thursday.“We are concerned about the crime,” said Amber Cole, one of the neighborhood block captains. “We are concerned about the reckless driving.”Members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, including Commissioner Robert Tracy, attended the meeting that residents of the 2000 and 2100 blocks of Fair Street and Harris Avenue organized.“I think the bedrock of how we move forward is community meetings like this,” Tracy told citizens. “It starts here.” Man convicted of killing St. Louis County police officer challenges guilty verdict “The summer months are coming, and we want it to be safe for the kids to play outside,” said Committeeman James Keyes from the 11th Ward.Tracy spoke about his commitment to building trust and communication channels for residents and police to be able to work together.“We have th...

St. Louis residents learning how to combat gun violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The crime in St. Louis is starting to heat up just as much as the weather. This past weekend, five people were killed in 15 shootings that left 18 others injured.When you look at the numbers, it may be a little frightening: 56 homicides in the city in about four months. Twenty percent of the known suspects and victims in those homicides are teenagers. It’s about one shooting death every two and a half days.“We have to have hope and faith that we can do something,” said Bridget Andrews with the Saint Margaret of Scotland Gun Sense Committee.Andrews said she wants her neighborhood to help make a difference in the city’s gun violence issue. On Thursday, the committee in the Shaw neighborhood hosted a call to action to educate residents on what they can do to help prevent gun violence. Man convicted of killing St. Louis County police officer challenges guilty verdict “We love the city,” she said. “We love being here; we are vested in it, so we want to make it a safe commun...

New prosecutor given days to prepare for big murder trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Five days to prepare for one of St. Louis’ biggest murder trials. That’s the challenge given Thursday morning to a new prosecutor brought in to help the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office through its staffing crisis.It came out in a pre-trial hearing involving the five-year-old Charl Howard murder case.Judge Bryan Hettenbach came right out of the gate, saying, “I am not going to continue this case,” a first-degree murder case that’s already been in the system since 2018. So now, a brand prosecutor, who knew little about the case before today, must be ready to tell a jury about it beginning Tuesday.Gregory Stevens was stabbed to death in March 2018. Howard spent four years in jail awaiting trial for the murder, until a judge released him on bond because of repeated prosecutorial delays. The case is extremely complex, as Judge Hettenbach wrote on April 7: “There are no eyewitnesses, no surveillance video, no fingerprints or DNA, and no confession. It is the proverbial cir...

St. Louis police to zero in on downtown as crime concern grows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS – There's growing concern ahead of Mother's Day weekend in the heart of downtown St. Louis after last weekend's chaos and murders.Barbara Forest doesn't live far from the Arch grounds and said she wanted to get out before the storm."Good time for a walk," Forest said. "I'm always on the lookout."She said there's a need for a stronger police presence after last weekend's 639 calls for service in 12 hours. Man convicted of killing St. Louis County police officer challenges guilty verdict Brandy Thomas lives near St. Louis has avoided downtown because of crime but decided to come during the day.Thomas said extra officers downtown could help put a dent in some of the issues."Maybe an officer on the corner. Police on bikes, mobile, walking," she said.Major Ryan Cousins, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said earlier this week the department will approach this weekend with different tactics."We will be increasing our police presence in downtown," Cousins said.The depar...

Contact 2 helps ease south St. Louis man’s fence frustration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Daniel Bright’s south St. Louis property looks like a mini lumberyard. He’s got 2x4s stacked in his front yard, fence pickets piled up in his driveway, and 4x4s posted up in his backyard. Bright said three posts are the root of this problem.“They put three fence posts in the wrong spots, about six feet in front of my property line," he said.Bright booked the job through Lowe’s for $3,500. Lowe’s subbed it out to a third-party contractor. Bright shared a drawing worksheet with FOX 2 he got from Lowes detailing plans for the fence project. The document features instructions to install the fence as close to the tree as possible.“During the survey and during the quote, they never mentioned anything about the tree being an issue," Bright said. Man convicted of killing St. Louis County police officer challenges guilty verdict But it was an issue. Bright said he confronted the contractor.“From there, they never came back. They sent me some documents to try to resolve it," Bri...