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A jury on Friday convicted of Stacey Vaillancourt of manslaughter and child cruelty in the 2019 death of Harper Rose Briar in Vaillancourt's home in Rutland. The 6-month-old was found unresponsive while in Vaillancourt's care, and an autopsy determined she had high concentrations of diphenhydramine, the sedating ingredient in some over-the-counter antihistamines including the brand Benadryl. The drug is not recommended for infants without a doctor's order, and there was no such order for Harper... Vaillancourt, who denied giving the infant anything that wasn't provided by her parents, was released on an unsecured appearance bond.

A jeweller in Italy has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for shooting dead two crooks who robbed his store and tied up his daughter, prompting a fierce debate on the limits of self-defence. Mario Roggero shot at three thieves in Grinzane Cavour on April 28, 2021 after they entered his store, bound his daughter's hands behind her back, threatened to kill his wife and helped themselves to expensive jewellery and watches. Fearing for his life, Roggero was seen on CCTV chasing them out of the shop and shooting at least five times. Andrea Spinelli and Giuseppe Mazzarino died...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal jury in Illinois ordered $17.7 million in damages — an amount tripled to more than $53 million under federal law... The jury ruled last week that the egg producers used various means to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase the price of products during the 2000s. The time frame of the conspiracy was an issue throughout the case; jurors ultimately determined damages occurred between 2004 and 2008... Food manufacturers joining as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the egg producers are Kraft Foods Global, Inc., The Kellogg Company, General Mills, Inc. and Nestle USA,...

Heterodox Amazon Synod bishop claims Church ‘cannot return’ to time before Pope Francis‘Married priests will come first, then the diaconate for women. Women priests will be the next stage,’ Bishop Erwin Kräutler said, contradicting the infallible teaching of the Catholic faith.Bishop Erwin Kräutler, a key architect of the Amazon Synod and a proponent of “women priests,” has said that the Church “cannot return” to the time before the “change” that Pope Francis has initiated.In an interview with the Swiss outlet kath.ch, Kräutler, 84, addressed the possibility of the Catholic Church officially allowing female ordinations and consecrating “proven” married men as...

(Image credit: Shutterstock)A team of researchers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of L’Aquila have achieved a groundbreaking transmission that demonstrates the possibility of transmitting up to 22.9 petabits per second (Pb/s) through a single optic cable composed of multiple fibers. This is a significant increase in transmission capacity, as the previous world record was 10.66 Pb/s.The old record was broken last June, with 1.8 Pb/s by researchers from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Then it was broken multiple times...

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, South Korea launches its first military spy satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, it was the first of five spy satellites South Korea plans to send into space by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. The launch took place a little over a week after North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time as tensions rise between the rivals. (SpaceX via AP)Uncredited South Korea’s Defense Ministry described the launch as successful, saying the satellite had...

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Senate is due to vote later on Wednesday on an effort to advance security assistance for Ukraine and Israel, despite Republicans' determination to block the bill in a battle over immigration policy."The question before the Senate today is simple, yet momentous: will Senators agree to begin debate – just a debate – on legislation to defend America’s national security, on an issue so important it goes to the actual preservation of Western and democratic values in the world?" Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks opening the Senate.But Republicans said they...

Two bodies found in an eastern Bexar County home are believed to be connected to a series of shootings in Austin that left four people dead and injured three people, including two law enforcement officers. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said his office received information from the Austin Police Department around 7 p.m. Tuesday indicating a home in the 6400 block of Port Royal might be linked to the suspect accused of killing four civilians and injuring a cyclist, an Austin Independent School District officer and an Austin Police Department officer. Shane James Jr., 34, was charged with capital murder...

Charities and NGOs supplying military aid to Ukraine's armed forces are facing delays of several weeks to critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to border protests by Polish truckers, three industry sources told Reuters. Thousands of trucks carrying commercial goods have been backed up for weeks at Poland's border crossings with Ukraine because of the protests, which began on Nov. 6. Hauliers in Slovakia began a similar blockade on Dec. 1. The protesters want to end Ukrainian truckers' permit-free access to the EU, saying Ukrainian drivers are undercutting their prices. Kyiv says the volume of wartime traffic...

President Biden’s job approval rating ticked down again in the latest CNN poll, dropping to 37 percent, a signal that the president’s favor is further eroding as he campaigns for another term in 2024. Biden boasted approval figures in the 50s at the start of his term, and still had 45 percent at the beginning of this year, according to the CNN polling. The latest figure is down two points from 39 percent at beginning of the month.

By all accounts, McDonald’s is doing just fine. The fast food behemoth’s sales have been great, with price increases adding to its bottom line. But McDonald’s is also... McDonald’s. It’s just there. Aside from some collaborations with celebrities and the occasional introduction of a new sandwich or sauce, it mostly serves as the unchanging standard against which all other fast food is measured. But the company is launching a new concept, seemingly aimed at capturing a younger, and more mobile, market. Enter CosMc’s. Although McDonald’s hasn’t officially announced anything, locals have spotted a location of the new “small format” (aka...

North Carolina elected officials agreed this year to expand Medicaid, which will provide the government-funded health insurance to adults ages 19 to 64 who make too much money to receive traditional Medicaid but generally not enough to benefit from public subsidies available for private health insurance. The federal government will pay 90% of the cost, as stipulated under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. More than 600,000 North Carolinians are ultimately expected to qualify, with roughly half to be automatically enrolled as of Friday. That means they’ll be able to get annual checkups, prescription drugs and other services with little or...

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Florida motorist accused of firing shots at an East Providence home before leading officers on a wild pursuit in Rhode Island last week appeared in court Monday.More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the black Nissan Armada, and several guns were also found in a backpack discarded along the chase route, according to police.Law enforcement officials brought more than 100 counts against Joshua Pavao, 43, with a last known address in Kissimmee.

FBI Director Christopher Wray delivered a full-throated defense of a powerful spy authority on Tuesday, invoking the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and warning lawmakers that a watered-down surveillance program could leave the agency paralyzed to respond to threats. “What could anybody possibly say to victims’ families if there was another attack that we could have prevented if we hadn’t given away the ability to effectively use a tool,” Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Because let’s not fool ourselves. That’s what’s at stake with the reauthorization,” he said. Wray escalated his rhetoric as Congress this week considers...

A school district in Lynchburg, Virginia, has received multiple death threats after the Washington Post published an article that claimed the board created a “blueprint for how to belittle, betray and dismiss kids” because it refused a $10,000 donation from a radical LGBT-pushing group. The Lynchburg City School Board voted 7 to 2 against the creation of LGBT “safe spaces” in its schools – designed to take children out of lessons and allow them to talk about their feelings in “comfortable chairs, blankets and low light” – with funds from the charity “It Gets Better.” The rejection infuriated Petula Dvorak...

Hundreds of Washington Post staff will go on strike Thursday and ahead of the industrial action have released a video message, pleading for public support during the 24-hour stoppage. The strike at the far-left outlet comes after 18 months of failed talks to reach a new deal covering pay, remote work, and other conditions — and after the daily, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, warned more layoffs were possible.

Unless the U.S. Congress votes to fund further U.S. military assistance to Kyiv, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war with Russia, head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, said during a visit to the United States on Dec. 5.“If the assistance currently under discussion in Congress is delayed — I'm not even talking about it being voted down — it will create a significant risk that we will be in the same position in which we are now,” Voice of America quotes Yermak.

Today, California was notified that the Biden-Harris Administration is awarding $6 billion to the state to build high-speed rail, investing in the whole system – San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Central Valley, creating connectivity north, south and with our neighbors to the east. California High-Speed Rail Authority will receive nearly $3.1 billion for construction in the Central Valley, supporting the overall end goal of connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. Another important rail project, Brightline, will receive $3 billion to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas with 80% of the project’s construction in California benefiting the state’s economy and...

Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that House Republicans are blurring footage from the Capitol attack before releasing it publicly because they don't want Jan. 6 rioters to be charged with crimes. "We have to blur some faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ," Johnson said Tuesday.

Homicides, shootings, carjackings down in 2023 DETROIT – The number of certain violent crimes has significantly dropped in Detroit this year. In fact, some of the numbers are the lowest they’ve been in six decades. So far in 2023, the city of Detroit has seen an 18% decrease in homicides compared to the year prior. The city’s homicides this year are the lowest they’ve been in nearly 60 years, according to data. In addition to a drop in homicides, there has also been a 36% decrease in carjackings and a 13% decrease in non-fatal shootings so far in 2023. The...