James Jennings, a county commissioner in far southeast Oklahoma, has resigned from office after being caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people. Governor Kevin Stitt's office has condemned the comments, and the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office has launched an internal investigation. Outrage has been sparked in the local community, with many calling for further action to be taken against the officials involved.
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84-year-old Andrew Lester appeared in court Wednesday to plead not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of a Black teenager, Ralph Yarl. The incident has sparked national debate about gun policies and Lester's attorney has argued that the shooting was in self-defense. The judge ordered Lester to surrender his passport and firearms and to not have contact with Yarl or his family, and he is due back in court on October 7th for a preliminary hearing.
Joseph Eaton, 34, was released from prison four days before he allegedly killed four people in a home and randomly shot three others on a busy highway. The Maine State Police are investigating the incident and have charged Eaton with four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Eaton had been sentenced in March 2021 for a probation violation and was released from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on April 14.
Rodney Reed, a Texas death row inmate, has been granted a chance to seek new DNA testing in the case of his 1996 conviction for murder by the Supreme Court. The 6-3 ruling overturned a lower court decision that said Reed had waited too long to make the request. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to decide whether to grant Reed's request for DNA testing, which could prove his innocence.
A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Memphis and five police officers, accusing them of causing the death of Tyre Nichols. The suit alleges that the Memphis Police Department allowed the Scorpion unit to operate unchecked, using "extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence" against its targets. It also accuses Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis of creating the Scorpion unit and being aware of its aggressive tactics, but failing to take action. The family of Tyre Nichols is seeking damages for his death, as well as punitive damages against the officers and the City of Memphis.
Key takeaways: Tennessee Senate has passed a bill that would protect gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits. The bill is heading to…
Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization chief financial officer, was released from Rikers Island jail after serving more than two-thirds of his five-month sentence for tax fraud and other crimes. His testimony was instrumental in the conviction of two Trump Organization companies in December 2022. Weisselberg's release marks the end of his sentence, and the future of both him and the Trump Organization remains uncertain.
Former Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly has spoken out about the massive defamation settlement that the news network recently reached with voting machine company Smartmatic. O'Reilly believes the settlement, estimated to be upwards of a billion dollars, is a sign of Fox News’ willingness to tell viewers what they want to hear, rather than honest information. He also noted that Fox News is facing additional lawsuits, including one from Smartmatic’s competitor Dominion Voting Systems, and that the settlement is a “mammoth verdict” that shows how money has become more important than honest information.