DENVER: A man who was convicted of pointing a gun at Burger King drive-thru worker who wouldn’t accept drugs for payment and later shooting at other people elsewhere the same night has been sentenced to 143 years in prison.
Prosecutors who announced the sentence Thursday said the drive-thru incident was the beginning of a series of crimes Eugene Robertson carried out in the Denver suburb of Aurora on Oct. 17, 2022. No one was wounded.
In April, a jury found Robertson guilty of 17 crimes, including eight counts of attempted murder. The sentences for many of the crimes were stacked on top of each other, leading to a long sentence. Robertson had faced a maximum sentence of more than 400 years when he was sentenced Aug. 9.
“I hope this century-long prison sentence serves as a warning that my prosecutors and I will not tolerate violent crime in our community,” 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement.
After Robertson pointed the gun at the drive-thru worker, prosecutors said he walked into a convenience store across the street and pointed a gun at the head of a clerk. When Robertson saw there was a surveillance video camera system there, he shot at the screen and left, then shot toward two people outside in the parking lot, Kellner’s office said.
The Sentinel Colorado in Aurora previously reported that a witness at the convenience store store told police there seemed to be “something off” about Robertson and that he was “talking about God” and carrying a Bible with a purple cover.
Later that night, a woman who was friends with Robertson called 911 to report that he had fired shots after she refused to open the door of her apartment, where she was with several people, prosecutors said.
Police spotted Robertson at the woman’s apartment complex. He hid behind some bushes before being arrested, prosecutors said.
Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison
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Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison
- In April, a jury found Robertson guilty of 17 crimes, including eight counts of attempted murder
- The sentences for many of the crimes were stacked on top of each other, leading to a long sentence
Boeing will lay off 10% of its employees as a strike by factory workers cripples airplane production
Boeing will lay off 10% of its employees as a strike by factory workers cripples airplane production
- Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.
Boeing plans to lay off about 10% of its workers in the coming months as it continues to lose money and tries to deal with a strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes.
New CEO Kelly Ortberg told staff in a memo Friday that the job cuts, which could total about 17,000 positions, will include executives, managers and employees.
The company has about 170,000 employees worldwide, many of them working in manufacturing facilities in the states of Washington and South Carolina.
Boeing had already imposed rolling temporary furloughs, but Ortberg said those will be suspended because of the impending layoffs.
The company will delay the rollout of a new plane, the 777X, to 2026 instead of 2025. It will also stop building the cargo version of its 767 jet in 2027 after finishing current orders.
Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.
About 33,000 union machinists have been on strike since Sept. 14. Two days of talks this week failed to produce a deal, and Boeing filed an unfair-labor-practices charge against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
As it announced layoffs, Boeing also gave a preliminary report on its third-quarter financial results — and the news is not good for the company.
Boeing said it burned through $1.3 billion in cash during the quarter and lost $9.97 per share. Industry analysts had been expecting the company to lose $1.61 per share in the quarter, according to a FactSet survey, but analysts were likely unaware of some large write-downs that Boeing announced Friday.
The company based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had $10.5 billion in cash and marketable securities on Sept. 30.
The strike has a direct bearing on cash burn because Boeing gets half or more of the price of planes when it delivers them to airline customers. The strike has shut down production of the 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling plane, and 777x and 767s. The company is still making 787s at a nonunion plant in South Carolina.
“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Ortberg told staff. He said the situation “requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”
Partial remains of British climber believed found 100 years after Everest ascent
- The expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine“
- The pair, who were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest, were last seen around 245 meters from the summit before they disappeared
LONDON: The partial remains of a British mountaineer who might — or might not — have been one of the first two people to climb Mount Everest are believed to have been found a century after their ascent of the world’s highest peak, according to an expedition led by National Geographic.
Ahead of the release of a documentary film, the television channel said Friday that the expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine” and a boot that could be that of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who disappeared at the age of 22 along with his co-climber, the legendary George Mallory, near Everest’s peak on June 8, 1924.
The pair, who were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest, were last seen around 800 feet (245 meters) from the summit before they disappeared. Their fate has been debated by climbers and historians alike, with some postulating that they had stood atop of the world before heading down and disappearing.
Mallory’s body was found in 1999 but there was no evidence that could point to the two having reached Everest’s summit at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters).
There is still no such evidence, though the apparent discovery of Irvine’s remains could narrow the search for a Kodak Vest Pocket camera lent to the climbers by expedition member Howard Somervell. For mountaineers, it’s the equivalent of the Holy Grail — whether there is photographic proof on that camera to show that the two did reach the summit before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
The sock and boot were found at a lower altitude than Mallory’s remains, on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Mount Everest.
“This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large,” said climb team member and National Geographic explorer Jimmy Chin.
Chin did not say exactly where the remains were found because he wants to discourage trophy hunters. But he’s confident that other items — and maybe even the camera — are nearby.
“It certainly reduces the search area,” he told National Geographic.
The Irvine family has volunteered to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm his identity.
His great-niece and biographer, Julie Summers, said she reacted emotionally when she found out about the discovery.
“I have lived with this story since I was a 7-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest,” she said. “When Jimmy told me that he saw the name AC Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
The find, made by Chin along with climbers and filmmakers Erich Roepke and Mark Fisher, was reported to the London-based Royal Geographical Society, which jointly organized Mallory’s and Irvine’s expedition along with the Alpine Club.
“As joint organizer of the 1924 Everest expedition, the society deeply appreciates the respect Jimmy Chin’s team has shown Sandy Irvine’s remains and their sensitivity toward Sandy’s family members and others connected to that expedition,” said Joe Smith, director of the society.
The partial remains are now in the possession of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which is responsible for climbing permits on Everest’s northern side.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
NEW YORK: Music mogul Sean Combs is set to go on trial for racketeering and sex trafficking on May 5, 2025, a judge said in a court hearing Thursday.
The rapper known as “Diddy” will remain incarcerated, said federal judge Arun Subramanian, after he was indicted last month on three criminal counts that allege he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.
Combs has twice been denied bail, as prosecutors have voiced concerns of witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As he entered the courtroom, Combs, wearing a light-colored wrinkled shirt and pants, greeted his mother and children who were attending the hearing.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said there was still more evidence to explore, noting that 96 electronic devices had been seized in March and that more charges were possible.
Allegations have been building against the Grammy winner since last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
A spate of similarly lurid civil lawsuits since have painted a picture of Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity status to prey on women.
And in a bombastic announcement, lawyers said more than 100 people who say Combs assaulted or exploited them — some of them children — were planning more legal action.
The explosion of allegations against him has highlighted a culture in the music industry that many people contend allows for a wider pattern of rampant sexual misconduct.
BBC Weather app wrongly shows 18,995 mph wind speeds in Britain
- App malfunction suggested winds were 150 times stronger than Hurricane Milton currently battering Florida
LONDON: Britons woke up to alarming news on Thursday, with the widely used BBC Weather app forecasting winds 150 times stronger than Hurricane Milton, due to a data malfunction.
With television news channels showing Milton smashing into Florida in the United States, the unprecedented winds forecast on the BBC Weather app prompted many people to turn to social media for an explanation.
“Go home BBC weather app, you’re drunk. It’s about 37mph,” said one X user, posting under the username Larky McRory, next to a screenshot of the app showing wind speeds of 18,995 mph.
Hurricane Milton was registered as a Category 3 hurricane in Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph).
BBC Weather sought to reassure the public that they did not in fact have to brace for hurricane winds, with a post on X saying that the weather was more likely to be a typical autumnal day of cold air and blustery showers.
“Don’t worry folks, there isn’t a hurricane on the way today for Scotland, and Edinburgh isn’t going to see wind gusts of an impossible magnitude of 17246mph!,” BBC Scotland Weather said on X. “There is a major error in the data being ingested into the app.”
A banner announcement on the app said: “We’re experiencing issues with our forecast data. We’re working to resolve it.” BBC Weather noted some temperatures were also displaying wrongly and apologized.
The malfunction prompted some social media users to recall the moment in 1987 when Britain’s then leading weather presenter, Michael Fish, reassured viewers that reports of a brewing hurricane were not accurate, just hours before hurricane-force winds hit the country.
TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say
More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, saying that the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health.
The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including New York, California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.
At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The lawsuits note TikTok design features that they say addict children to the platform, such as the ability to scroll endlessly through content, push notifications that come with built-in “buzzes” and face filters that create unattainable appearances for users.
“They’ve chosen profit over the health and safety, well-being and future of our children,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference in San Francisco. “And that is not something we can accept. So we’ve sued.”
The latest lawsuits come nearly a year after dozens of states sued Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc. in state and federal courts for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms.
Keeping people on the platform is “how they generate massive ad revenue,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in an interview. “But unfortunately, that’s also how they generate adverse mental health impacts on the users.”
The legal challenges, which also include Google’s YouTube, are part of a growing reckoning against social media companies and their effects on young people’s lives. In some cases, the challenges have been coordinated in a way that resembles how states previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.
TikTok, though, is facing an even bigger obstacle, as its very existence in the US is in question. Under a federal law that took effect earlier this year, TikTok could be banned from the US by mid-January if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell the platform by then. Both TikTok and ByteDance are challenging the law at an appeals court in Washington. A panel of three judges heard oral arguments in the case last month and are expected to issue a ruling, which could be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
In its filings Tuesday, the District of Columbia called the algorithm “dopamine-inducing,” and said it was created to be intentionally addictive so the company could trap many young users into excessive use and keep them on its app for hours on end. TikTok does this despite knowing that these behaviors will lead to profound psychological and physiological harms, such as anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and other long-lasting problems, the district said.
TikTok is disappointed that the lawsuits were filed after the company had been working with the attorneys general for two years on addressing to the issues, a spokesman said.
“We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” the TikTok spokesman. Alex Haurek, said. “We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product.”
The social media company does not allow children under 13 to sign up for its main service and restricts some content for everyone under 18. But Washington and several other states said in their filings that children can easily bypass those restrictions, allowing them to access the service adults use despite the company’s claims that its platform is safe for children.
The District of Columbia alleges TikTok is operating as an “unlicensed virtual economy” by allowing people to purchase TikTok Coins – a virtual currency within the platform – and send “Gifts” to streamers on TikTok LIVE who can cash it out for real money. TikTok takes a 50 percent commission on these financial transactions but hasn’t registered as a money transmitter with the US Treasury Department or authorities in the district, according to the complaint.
Officials say teens are frequently exploited for sexually explicit content through TikTok’s LIVE streaming feature, which has allowed the app to operate essentially as a “virtual strip club” without any age restrictions. They say the cut the company gets from the financial transactions allows it to profit from exploitation.
The 14 attorneys general say the goal of their lawsuits is to stop TikTok from using these features, impose financial penalties for their alleged illegal practices and collect damages for users that have been harmed.
The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the US and many other parts of the world. Almost all teens ages 13 to 17 in the US report using a social media platform, with about a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.
High school students who frequently use social media more commonly have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted last year in which about 20,000 teenagers participated.
Also on Tuesday, 22 other states including Alabama, Colorado, Florida and Michigan filed an amicus brief urging a Tennessee court to force TikTok to produce documents related to a multistate investigation that those attorney general offices say TikTok is withholding or destroying.
When TikTok failed to produce the requested information last year, 46 states including Minnesota filed an amicus brief in support of Tennessee. The amicus brief they filed Tuesday supports Tennessee’s continued efforts to compel TikTok’s compliance.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued TikTok, alleging the company was sharing and selling minors’ personal information in violation of a new state law that prohibits these practices. TikTok, which disputes the allegations, is also fighting against a similar data-oriented federal lawsuit filed in August by the Department of Justice.
Several Republican-led states, including Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas, also previously sued the company, some unsuccessfully, over allegations it is harming children’s mental health, exposing them to “inappropriate” content or allowing young people to be sexually exploited on its platform.