20211209

Just Believe in your Abilities


 

I Really Can't Stay Baby It's Cold Outside






 

Jussie Smollett found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime against him in 2019


A Chicago jury reached guilty verdicts Thursday on five of six charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of falsely reporting that he was the victim of a disturbing, hate-fueled beating.

The panel, which had deliberated since Wednesday afternoon, weighed six counts of felony disorderly conduct against Smollett for telling police that he was brutally assaulted at 2:45 a.m. Jan. 29, 2019, in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood.

The offenses are class 4 felonies and could be punishable by up to three years behind bars. But Smollett has a clean criminal record, making any jail time highly unlikely.

Dan Webb, the special prosecutor selected to lead the case, said the sixth charge was an aggravated battery charge. He said after the verdict that he was proud of the jury, characterizing Smollett's defense as a "completely ridiculous story."

He also defended the Chicago Police Department's response to Smollett's initial report of a hate crime.

"For the next three weeks, these 26 Chicago officers spent 3,000 hours of time costing the city well over $100,000 for a fake crime that never occurred," Webb said. "And by the way, a fake crime that denigrates what a real-hate crime is and to use these meanings and symbols that are so important in our society. It's clear why the police would take it seriously."

Smollett’s defense attorney said they will appeal, calling his client "an innocent man."

"We feel 100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal," lawyer Nenye Uche said. Smollett is disappointed and is confident his name will be cleared, Uche said.

Smollett left court without answering shouted questions from reporters.

Smollett said two men punched him, kicked him, used racist and homophobic slurs, threw chemicals in his face, wrapped rope around his neck and even yelled out a slogan in support of then-President Donald Trump.




 

The Case of Laci Peterson | A Dateline Documentary 2019


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98vHwpBPQjU 

Scott Peterson, convicted of killing pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, resentenced to life in prison Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant with their son, Conner, when she was killed in December 2002.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scott-peterson-convicted-killing-pregnant-wife-laci-re-sentenced-life-rcna7909?fbclid=IwAR1yDMoKQLHH9BAzn6TC5xqNhZ79fJOKAWqG8_5ULU3txCEKIHpVv5GIgNg


On January 17, 2003, it became known that Peterson had engaged in two other extramarital affairs prior to an affair with a woman named Amber Frey.[41]

Amber Frey approached the police about Peterson, who had denied to police that he was having an affair. She told detectives that she met Peterson on November 20, and that he had initially told her he was single. After they had begun dating, however, she came to suspect that he was married, and confronted him on December 9 about this. Frey said to Brocchini, "He said he lost his wife, this would be the first holiday he was without his wife."[42]

Frey allowed police detectives to secretly record her subsequent phone conversations with Peterson in the hopes of getting him to confess.[43] During the trial, the audio recordings of the couple's telephone conversations were played, and the transcripts were publicized. The recordings revealed that in the days after Laci went missing, Peterson told Frey that he had traveled to Paris to celebrate the holidays, in part with his new companions Pasqual and François. In reality, he had made one of these phone calls minutes before attending the New Year's Eve candlelight vigil for Laci in Modesto.[44]



https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scott-peterson-convicted-killing-pregnant-wife-laci-re-sentenced-life-rcna7909?fbclid=IwAR1yDMoKQLHH9BAzn6TC5xqNhZ79fJOKAWqG8_5ULU3txCEKIHpVv5GIgNg

Community News: Woman drove car into Niagara River


It’s unclear how the car got into the Niagara River. Witnesses reported seeing it floating near a pedestrian bridge, where it was believed to have gone in. Roads in the area were slippery.

One witness, Trey Parks, tells CityNews he lives a block away from where it all took place.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

After the rescue, the car remained almost entirely submerged, with only part of the roof and open trunk hatch visible, in the rapids upstream from the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. Onlookers watched as emergency crews prepared to try to pull the vehicle from the water.

Authorities said the driver lived in the area. Her name was not released pending the notification of her relatives.