[FoxNews] Judge Johanna Bender said she empathizes with the mother of a murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a handyman.
A Seattle judge said she empathizes with the mother of a murder suspect and explained that she has received death threats over some of her bail decisions regarding suspects of violent crimes.
King County Superior Court Judge Johanna Bender's remarks came during a case that put the spotlight on the ongoing debate about the criminal justice system's approach to bail.
K'Shawn Jimerson, 20, was charged with second-degree murder over allegations he fatally stabbed handyman and military veteran Michael Gray, 65, in the back with a large kitchen knife, according to Fox 13.
Renton Police said Jimerson was seen on surveillance video striking Gray twice from behind with a broom stick. Gray then turned and followed Jimerson into the home where Jimerson is accused of stabbing him twice. Jimerson claimed self-defense during a 911 call, but police said the video and the wounds in Gray's back and side show that was not the case.
King County District Court Judge Michele Gehlsen initially set Jimerson's bail amount at $50,000 during his first court hearing, according to Fox 13. The decision surprised many in the community, including law enforcement leaders who believed it did not reflect the gravity of the crime.
"Our community deserves to be protected from a suspect who commits these violent acts," Renton Police Chief Jon Schuldt said in a statement after Jimerson was released from jail.
Just days later, prosecutors formally charged Jimerson with second-degree murder and requested his bail be bumped up to $2 million.
During a hearing on Oct. 3 to address prosecutors' request to increase his bail, Bender asked the courtroom if anyone wanted to speak on the issue. Jimerson's mother approached the bench and requested that the media not be allowed to show her son's face over concerns about "vigilante justice," Fox 13 reported.
"People want to take matters into their own hands and attack my child," Jimerson’s mother said. "I feel like he’s being tried before he even had the opportunity to have a trial."
Bender then expressed empathy for Jimerson's mother and spoke about her frustrations with death threats she has received over decisions she makes in a courtroom.
"This hearing is not about me, but I will share with you that I often get death threats based on the decisions that I made," Bender told Jimerson's mother. "Which is equally frustrating to me because I'm trying to do my job, and it should not be the responsibility of any member of the public to threaten my life because I am trying to uphold the law. So, I am very empathetic to the situation that the family finds themselves in, having experienced it themselves, and I understand personally how frightening and disruptive it is all the more so while navigating this incredibly traumatic time for your family."
"I am just doing my job, you're dealing with a crisis," the judge continued. "That's a huge difference and one for which I am very empathetic. I will also take this opportunity to editorialize, that I hope the press takes seriously their obligation to tell the stories of what happens in our courtroom in a fair and unbiased way and takes every reasonable editorial action to not stir up public sentiment for revenge."
Bender ruled that the media could show Jimerson's face because the surveillance video had already been broadcast in the media. She increased his bail to $500,000 instead of prosecutors' request of $2 million.
Other decisions made by Bender that have been criticized by victims and their families include her decision in July to set bail at $50,000 for a man who allegedly shot a grandmother multiple times at an ATM in front of the woman's granddaughter.
In February, Bender lowered the bail of an accused accomplice in a double murder from $1 million to $20,000. The victims' family members slammed the decision, saying: "Nobody is safe, you know, if he's out. $20,000 bail is not enough to protect people."
[Breitbart] At least 27 people were shot, five of them fatally, during the weekend in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) Chicago.
Breitbart News reported that at least 20 people were shot Friday into Sunday morning alone, and two of those victims succumbed to their wounds.
On Monday morning, ABC 7 noted that the total number of shooting victims had reached at least 27 with three additional shooting fatalities.
One of the additional fatal shootings occurred Sunday at 5:23 a.m. “in the 7300-block of S. Greenwood.” A 23-year-old was shot multiple times and self-transported to a hospital, where he died.
Hours later, at 9:20 a.m., a woman was sitting in her car “on Damen Avenue near McKinley Park Natural Area,” when a gunman approached and opened fire, striking her multiple times. She was taken to a hospital where she died.
Just before noon on Sunday, a driver “in the 400-block of W. 87th Street” was shot multiple times. The man was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Chicago Sun-Times pointed out that 447 have been killed in Chicago so far this year.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics to American scientists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson for studying the influence of social institutions on the prosperity of society. The first two researchers represent the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, James Robinson — the University of Chicago.
The work of the 2024 laureates helps to understand why societies without the rule of law and exploitation of the population do not prosper, the press release notes.
A good question to answer.
To assess the role of social institutions, the scientists turned to the period of colonization. In some colonies, the invaders pursued the goal of exploiting the native population and using the extracted resources for their own interests. In others, the colonists formed comprehensive political and economic systems for the long-term benefit of European migrants. The laureates' research showed that one of the explanations for why the first type of society declined and the second flourished were the social institutions that were introduced during the process of colonization.
“The implementation of inclusive institutions brings long-term benefits to everyone, while extractive institutions bring short-term benefits to those in power,” the Nobel Committee noted.
In 2023, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to American Claudia Goldin for her research on the role of women in the labor market. She took a new approach to studying gender inequality and explained why women earn less than men.
[FoxNews] Members of a longstanding family in Fairview, North Carolina, are working to rebuild their lives after 13 people in their community, 11 of whom were related, died on a single morning when Hurricane Helene swept over the Appalachian Mountains.
Two weeks after three mudslides decimated homes in the small valley – dubbed "Craigtown" due to residents' ties to the Craig family that has lived in the area for 80 years – Jesse Craig and his wife, Mekenzie Craig, are picking up the pieces of Helene's devastation.
"It's literally like our world has been turned upside down," Mekenzie Craig told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
Her husband, Jesse, lost both his parents, two of his cousins, his aunt and uncle and his great aunt and uncle in a mudslide down a single path through the Craigtown valley, formally known as Garren Creek. Three additional Craig relatives and two others who were not related to the family perished in the mudslides, including a firefighter who was working to rescue others.
"There were a lot of heroic acts over here that day from a lot of different people," Jesse said. "It just shows how tight-knit of a family we are and how tight-knit this community is and how much we love each other."
Jesse and Mekenzie survived their own harrowing night when Helene brought a tree down on their house and both their cars. Later that same day, around 5 p.m., Jesse's brother got a call through – miraculously – to let him know their family members had been swept away by the storm.
"They're gone," Jesse's brother said in his state of shock over the phone. "There is no way they survived that."
Mekenzie said there is no way they could have been prepared for what happened to their family. Part of Jesse's parents' home – the kitchen – is still fully intact. Had they been in a different room of their home, they might have survived, she said.
At their own home in Fletcher, a town over from Fairview, Mekenzie and Jesse had been receiving flood alerts on their phone the night of Sept. 27.
"But we've had those before. It's not like we've never had flood warnings before," she said. "But we obviously did not expect it to be as awful and catastrophic as it was this time. Nobody expected this."
More than 250 people died across multiple states during the hurricane, including 90 people in North Carolina alone. An unknown number of people remains missing.
In the first few days after the storm, more than a million people were without power. Linemen have been working 16- and 17-hour days to restore power, especially in hard-to-reach mountainous areas where power lines and telephone poles were mangled in thick brush and mud up and down steep slopes.
Jesse's father was an avid gardner, and the potatoes he was growing before the storm can be seen poking out of the mud scattered up and down the valley where healthy grass and trees once grew.
Amid the destroyed homes, mangled cars and spray-painted orange "X" symbols on trees and rocks where authorities found bodies days after Helene came through, leaves are starting to turn vibrant colors. A small stream that was ripped from its banks during the storm trickles by quietly and grasshoppers chirp as if nothing happened two weeks ago.
They have been trying to keep busy. In the two weeks since Sept. 27, Jesse and Mekenzie have gotten up every morning, brushed their teeth with water bottles when they were out of water, drove over to Craigtown, which used to be 20 minutes from their home but is now an hour-long drive, and sorted through debris, looking for their loved ones' belongings that survived the storm.
Jesse noted that his parents' 8-year-old golden retriever, Cooper, survived the storm. They found him at home, still in his crate, because he did not want to leave after the storm destroyed nearly everything.
But in the face of shock and overwhelming tragedy, Jesse and Mekenzie expressed deep gratitude to those who stepped up to help them, including their local community and people around the country who have offered assistance.
"Locals and first responders and different fire departments from all over the South, from all over the Eastern Seaboard, came down to help us," Jesse said. "And we spent a lot of time with them and got to know a lot of them personally because we were right here together in it, and they're just incredible people."
Mekenzie described a local Baptist church as a "Dollar General" because it was so full of supplies. They were handed a bucket when they walked inside the church to collect whatever food or other necessities they needed.
A GoFundMe titled "Support the Craig Family After Tragic Loss" aims to assist the Craig family with funeral expenses for 11 people, rebuilding costs and medical expenses.
"That's all we really need is financial help. We have been overwhelmed with so many people from all over the country with supplies. It is amazing," Mekenzie said. "[A]lmost every church in this area, you can go in, and there are literally grocery stores in these churches."
The couple encourages anyone who needs help to seek a local entity that has food, supplies and other necessary resources.
"Find a local entity and go," Jesse said. "They will give you whatever you need. Most of them have plenty. Don't hesitate to go and get help if you need it."
[The Federalist] After instructing poll workers last week to give ballots to people who present a noncitizen driver’s license, the Texas secretary of state updated the guidance to require those voters to also provide proof of naturalization.
"[E]lection workers have an obligation under state criminal law not to facilitate illegal voting by non-citizens," reads a Friday memo from Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson to election officials regarding the updated guidance. "When an individual attempts to vote by presenting a temporary or limited-term driver’s license (which federal regulations say must be issued only to non-citizens who are lawfully present in this country) election workers must require that the individual produce a naturalization card or naturalization certificate demonstrating U.S. citizenship to receive a regular ballot."
Nelson said the change came after the state’s attorney general did not respond to her office’s request for a "formal legal opinion" on "this important issue."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told The Federalist the updated guidance is a "good step" in the right direction.
"It is critically important that Texas take every legal step necessary to ensure that not a single noncitizen votes," Roy said. "The secretary of state’s modified guidance was a good step in that direction. I think we need to have continued conversation ensuring that we’ve done all we can do ... and the Texas legislature should clarify the law further to ensure integrity in our elections."
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Former Fox News host's stunning condemnation of Trump goes viral as star renounces MAGA beliefs
“Pay attention to MEEEEEE!!”
Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera has spectacularly withdrawn his support for Donald Trump and renounced his previous MAGA beliefs. Rivera took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a lengthy statement lambasting his former friend Trump for his unwillingness to accept the results of the 2020 election.
Mr. Rivera only figured that out now? Or perhaps he is selling his opinion when he can get the highest price for it.
'Former President Trump is a sore loser who cannot be trusted to honor the Constitution,' the veteran journalist wrote on Monday.
'That is why I am voting for Kamala Harris to be our 47th President.'
Does anyone care what he thinks?
Geraldo recalled Trump being a 'loyal friend' to him during his presidency, which he called 'underrated.'
But he noted the two have not spoken since a phone call in November, 2020 - just days after Joe Biden won the election. Rivera said Trump assured him that he would recognize the electoral results, so he was disappointed when the president never did.
'As I reported on Fox News that same morning, Friday the 13th, he told me he was a reasonable man and would do the right thing if that time came,' Rivera wrote.
'It never did. Instead, President Trump embarked on an increasingly menacing campaign to discredit the 2020 election.'
'If you are a Republican, Donald Trump has made a liar of you.
'He has coaxed and intimidated tens of millions into pretending he was reelected in 2020, and that the election was stolen'.
Rivera, now 81, worked for Fox from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show Geraldo from 1987 to 1998.
In his post, he also accused Trump of inciting a violent attack on the nation's 'center of democracy'.
'As his followers trashed that sacred space, he was on the phone urging Vice President Mike Pence essentially to overturn the will of the American people,' Rivera continued.
'Pence refused to put Trump ahead of the Constitution. Trump stabbed the Constitution in the back.'
Rivera concluded that those who decide to vote for Trump because of immigration or tax reduction are 'adopting his big lie'.
'You justify voting for Trump, adopting his big lie about the stolen election makes you a liar,' he wrote.
In the past, Rivera was friendly with Trump and even said that he supported the former president, while adding that he did not 'endorse him'.
'I support the president, but I don't endorse the president...he doesn't always heed my advice,' Rivera told PEOPLE in 2020, as noted by Newsweek.
'But I'm honored that the President of the United States, the most powerful person on earth, listens to a [guy] that's been knocking around television for half a century.'
[GEO.TV] New observations by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa's) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggested a nearby alien exoplanet is shrouded in a thick envelope of steam.
This world, which is located around 100 light-years away from the Earth, has been designated as GJ 9827 d, reported Space.
It is around twice the size of the Earth and three times more massive than our planet with an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapour.
"This is the first time we're ever seeing something like this," team member and former University of Michigan undergraduate student Eshan Raul, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stated.
"The planet appears to be made mostly of hot water vapour, making it something we're calling a 'steam world.' To be clear, this planet isn't hospitable to at least the types of life that we're familiar with on Earth,'' the statement added.
It is worth noting that astronomers have long assumed that "steam worlds" like GJ 9827 d could exist, however, this is the first time such an exoplanet has been observed.
This planet is unlikely to support life, at least as we understand it, but it could help astronomers study other small exoplanets between the size of Earth and Neptune that are habitable, according to Raul.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2024 00:00 ||
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Not the first of it's kind, just the first you've ever seen.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/15/2024 8:16 Comments ||
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The Science:
What makes GJ 9827 so significant isn't just its strange, steam-like atmosphere, but the weight of the molecules it's composed of.
According to the study, almost all exoplanets of such a size discovered by researchers have comprised lighter molecules, like hydrogen and helium. By observing GJ 9827, researchers were able to use a method called transmission spectroscopy to determine that its atmosphere's molecules are heavier, much like Earth's.
So while this steamy planet certainly wouldn't be able to support life as we know it, it may aid us in our search for other habitable planets.
"GJ 9827 d is the first planet where we detect an atmosphere rich in heavy molecules like the terrestrial planets of the solar system," said lead study author and University of Montréal astrophysicist Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb in a statement. "This is a huge step."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Breitbart] At least 27 people were shot, five of them fatally, during the weekend in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) Chicago.
