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Indiana high court finds state residents entitled to jury trial in government confiscation cases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana residents are entitled to a trial by jury when the government seeks to confiscate their money or property through the civil forfeiture process, the state’s high court ruled.In a 5-0 decision Tuesday, the Indiana Supreme Court found that the history of civil forfeiture proceedings, from medieval England to Indiana statehood, weighs in favor of letting a jury decide whether property allegedly associated with a crime should be seized by the state, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.“We hold that a claimant in an action brought under Indiana’s civil forfeiture statute has a constitutional right to trial by jury,” Justice Christopher Goff wrote on behalf of the court.Tuesday’s ruling also establishes a new test for the jury-trial right contained in Article I, Section 20 of the Indiana Constitution. The decision stems from a case involving Alucious Kizer, who was convicted in December 2022 of three counts of drug dealing and sentenced to a total of 2...

Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 9

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

Week 9 ushers in another round of byes with the Broncos, Lions, 49ers, and Jaguars all off this week.Off the top of my head, that means we’re missing at least two starting quarterbacks, four running backs, three tight ends, and as many as seven wide receivers.Yikes.Add in the multitude of quarterback injuries that happened last week and fantasy lineups are looking pretty grim in Week 9.But don’t worry, this piece has you covered.Every week I’ll be listing out every fantasy-relevant player, sorted by position and bucketed into tiers with the higher-tiered players deemed more start-worthy. For specific start/sit advice between two players in the same tier, refer to numberFire ’s projection model.These tiers are meant to reflect your typical 12-team, half-PPR scoring formats with only one starting quarterback — though the general rankings can be loosely applied to most formats.Any player not listed can be assumed sit-worthy in most leagues.All betting references refer to the NFL odds a...

Collapse of Kentucky plant being demolished at abandoned mine leaves 1 worker dead, another trapped

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

INEZ, Ky. (AP) — One man has died after he and a coworker were trapped beneath tons of concrete and steel when an 11-story building being demolished collapsed at an abandoned eastern Kentucky mine’s coal preparation plant.The building at Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County collapsed around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Teams used cameras, listening devices and search dogs to try to rescue the men, but Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday that one of the men had died.“It’s a terrible day for us. We’ve seen tragedies like this before associated of course with the industries that we’re involved in. So it’s not foreign to us, but it’s still a terrible day any time we see a tragedy,” Martin County Judge Executive Lon Lafferty said during an afternoon news conference at the scene.Lafferty said the workers were working to demolish the building at the abandoned mine site on Wolf Creek when the collapse occurred. He said the workers were trapped under a “tremendous pile of rubble.” Mar...

Firefighters battling to contain Southern California wildfire though many homes remain threatened

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

AGUANGA, Calif. (AP) — More than 1,200 firefighters are attacking a big Southern California wildfire, and fire officials said Wednesday they’ve made inroads in containing the flames though many homes remain threatened.The size of the Highland Fire remained unchanged at just under 4 square miles (10 square kilometers) after minimal overnight activity but containment grew to 15%, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement.One firefighter was reported injured as crews tackled the fire, aided by air tankers and helicopters.Gusty, dry Santa Ana winds were blowing Monday when the fire erupted near rural Aguanga in Riverside County about 53 miles (85 kilometers) north of San Diego. Evacuation orders were issued for 4,000 residents as flames spread rapidly in the brush-covered hill country.As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire tallied seven structures destroyed, six damaged and 2,356 threatened. At least two of those were homes destroyed by the flames, r...

Player’s death from a skate cut to the neck in England leads to more NHL talks on cut protection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The death of American hockey player Adam Johnson from a skate blade to the neck in a game in England is leading to further discussions about cut-resistant protection in the NHL and other leagues.Commissioner Gary Bettman and Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh touched based Sunday in the immediate aftermath of the death to set up further talks between the league and union. For several years the two sides have been studying skate cut injuries and how to reduce and avoid them, and now the topic has taken on greater urgency at various levels of the sport.“We’re going to explore everything,” Walsh said Wednesday. “We have to continue to have conversations on this as we move forward here. It’s a change for the players, but it’s also about protecting them, so I think we will have those conversations as we move forward here.”Johnson, a 29-year-old from Minnesota, died at a hospital after being cut in the neck by the skate...

Federal Reserve leaves its key rate unchanged but keeps open possibility of a future hike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a meeting of the Economic Club of New York, Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates alone when its latest meeting ends Wednesday. But economists will be listening closely to what Chair Jerome Powell says about the possible future path for rates.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)(AP/Seth Wenig) FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a meeting of the Economic Club of New York, Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates alone when its latest meeting ends Wednesday. But economists will be listening closely to what Chair Jerome Powell says about the possible future path for rates.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)(AP/Seth Wenig...

Former Memphis officer charged in Tyre Nichols death to change plea in federal court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer is changing his not guilty plea on federal charges that he violated Tyre Nichols ‘ civil rights by fatally beating him after a traffic stop in January.A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for Thursday for Desmond Mills Jr., according to court documents and his lawyer.Mills and four other former Memphis Police Department officers have been charged in federal court with using excessive force and conspiring to lie after they were caught on camera punching, kicking and hitting Nichols with a police baton on Jan. 7. Nichols died three days later in a hospital. The five former officers also have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in state court.Mills’ lawyer, Blake Ballin, said he could not discuss details of the plea agreement, including which charges it pertains to. Ballin said Mills was changing his plea “to take responsibility for his actions.” Mills also plans to enter a plea agreement in state court, bu...

Colorado State Patrol warns of increasing vehicle fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you're in the market for a used vehicle, the Colorado State Patrol wants you to beware of any possible scams.The patrol and certified VIN inspectors are seeing a rise in vehicle fraud cases. These cases range from false titles and tampered-with odometers to the sale of stolen vehicles. Often, these vehicles will be an "unbelievable" deal compared to similar cars. See the latest traffic conditions in Denver on FOX31 The Colorado State Patrol reminded buyers that signs a car sale is a scam include:The vehicle is listed for a much lower price than comparable vehiclesA private seller lists the vehicle and asks for cash only. This is especially true if the seller is appealing to emotions (i.e., "only selling to pay my bills," or "I need to make rent").The seller's account on Facebook marketplace, eBay, Craigslist and other person-to-person sale sites has little to no content or is nearly blank, which could indicate the seller is trying to leave little trace of them...

Denver weather: A mild and dry start to November across Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — While it was a cloudy first day of November in Denver weather, temperatures were still able to reach seasonal levels in the upper 50s to low 60s. According to Pinpoint Weather, Colorado’s Most Accurate Forecast, the outlook for the next week looks to be above normal and mainly dry across Denver and the Front Range.Denver averages for the month of NovemberWeather Wednesday night: Slowly clearing and coldClouds will stick around across Denver through Wednesday evening before slowly clearing overnight. The wind will be light and generally from a southwesterly direction. Temperatures will be cold again with below-freezing readings across the state. The coldest lows will be recorded in the teens mainly in the mountain valleys.Overnight lows by Thursday morning across ColoaradoWeather Thursday: Sunny skies and milderWe will have more sunshine on Thursday across Colorado and metro Denver. The wind will be from a warm westerly direction. There may be some high clou...

Judge indicates she may delay Trump trial on charges he hid classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:52 GMT

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge in Florida indicated Wednesday that she may delay the start of the classified documents trial of Donald Trump, pointing to the other criminal cases the former president is facing as well as the mounds of evidence his attorneys need to review.Trump’s trial on charges that he hid classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed government efforts to get them back is currently scheduled for May 20, 2024.But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon appeared ready to side with Trump’s attorneys in their request to postpone the trial, saying she “has a hard time seeing how realistically this (current schedule) would work” even as prosecutors pushed her to keep the scheduled start date.The classified documents case filed by special counsel Jack Smith’s team is one of four Trump is facing that could go to trial next year. Another federal case, also brought by Smith and charging him with scheming to overturn the results of...