
Woman steals Civil War-era gun, then opens fire, New Mexico officials say
Janice Kowalchuk was convicted of assault, burglary, larceny and negligent use of a deadly weapon charges after a trial, the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said in a July 23 post on Facebook.
The 34-year-old faces 10–plus years behind bars when she's sentenced, prosecutors said. A sentencing date wasn't announced.
McClatchy News reached out to her attorneys July 25 and was awaiting a response.
Kowalchuk is accused of breaking into a van July 31, 2022, and making off with the 1860 Colt revolver, prosecutors said.
'When the victim confronted her and attempted to retrieve the firearm, Kowalchuk opened fire,' according to prosecutors. No injuries were reported.
Bernalillo County includes Albuquerque.
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Miami Herald
19 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
30-year-old from North Carolina dies after going under in alpine lake, WA cops say
A 30-year-old man from Raleigh, North Carolina, died after going underwater in a cold alpine lake in Washington, deputies said. Someone sent a 911 text at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, from Colchuck Lake, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in an Aug. 6 Facebook post. The man, who has not been identified by authorities, hiked to the icy vibrant blue lake from Colchuck Trail with three friends, spokesperson Jason Reinfeld told McClatchy News in an Aug. 7 email. Reinfeld said the group then got in the water to swim. They were swimming 'across a small inlet' on the west side of the lake when the man couldn't swim further, Reinfeld said. The man was about 20 yards from the shore when he went underwater for about five minutes, Reinfeld said. Another hiker pulled the victim out of the water. The hiker and the man's friends took turns performing CPR until first responders got to the scene, Reinfeld said. Because of the remote mountain area, the man was hoisted into an Army helicopter at about 8:45 p.m., deputies said in the news release. He was transported to the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery where he was pronounced dead, deputies said. Colchuck Lake is about a 15-mile drive southwest from Leavenworth, a Bavarian-style village and tourist destination. The lake is icy and deep blue, making it a popular hiking area, according to the Washington Trails Association.

Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Associated Press
Sudanese airstrike hits Darfur airport, kills 40 suspected mercenaries, officials say
CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese airstrike hit an airport in the country's Darfur region controlled by a notorious paramilitary group, destroying a suspected Emirati military aircraft and killing dozens of suspected mercenaries, Sudanese officials and a rebel advisor said Thursday. Wednesday's strike on the Nyala airport killed at least 40 suspected mercenaries from Colombia and destroyed a shipment of arms and equipment that were sent by the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, according to two Sudanese military officials and an advisor to a Darfur rebel leader allied with the RSF. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The advisor also requested anonymity for his safety. Sudan plunged into chaos when simmering tensions between the country's military and the RSF exploded into fighting in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country. The fighting has turned into a full-fledged civil war that killed tens of thousands of people, displaced over 14 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine. A 'new equation of deterrence' State-run Sudan TV reported the aircraft had taken off from a military base in the Arab Gulf region, and that Sudanese fighter jets struck it when it landed at the Nyala airport. It described the strike as a 'blatant message' and a 'new equation of deterrence' against foreign interference in Sudan's affairs. The Emirati Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. However, it has repeatedly denied involvement in the Sudan war by backing armed groups. There was also no comment from the RSF. Responding to the reports, Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X overnight that he ordered an investigation into the mercenaries' killing. The RSF seized Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur province, last year as part of the paramilitary group's push to control the entire region of Darfur. The Sudanese government has accused the RSF of turning the city's civilian airport into a military hub to receive weapons shipments and smuggle gold. The Sudanese military has repeatedly struck the airport, saying it targeted aircraft delivering military supplies and mercenaries to the RSF. U.N. experts confirmed in a report released in April that Colombian mercenaries were present in Darfur and that those mercenaries were hired by a private security firm to support the RSF. According to the report, the Colombian Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Colombian mercenaries were in Darfur and announced the establishment of a special immediate response group to ensure the safe return of its nationals. Sudan says UAE barred Sudanese planes The Sudanese aviation agency, meanwhile, said the UAE barred Sudanese planes Wednesday from landing at its airports, in what it called a 'surprise, uncoordinated' measure. The Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement that a Sudanese airliner was also barred from taking off at the Abu Dhabi airport, according to a report by the state-run SUNA news agency. The UAE's Foreign Ministry also didn't respond to a request for comment on the report. Relations between the military-allied government in Sudan and the UAE have been frayed over Abu Dhabi's alleged support to the RSF. The Sudanese government severed ties with the UAE earlier this year over the allegations.


Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Nation's violent crime rate fell in 2024 to lowest in 20 years: FBI
The nation's violent and property crime rates dropped to a two-decade low in 2024, following the COVID-era surge in homicides, according to new FBI data released this week. Why it matters: The numbers show crime was heading toward a 20-year record low in the last year of the Biden administration, despite President Trump's false campaign claims that President Biden was overseeing a nationwide crime spike. The big picture: The new FBI numbers released Tuesday also come as preliminary data from the country's largest cities in 2025 so far suggest violent crime is falling even more and could be heading to modern record lows. By the numbers: The U.S. had a violent crime rate of 359.1 per 100,000 residents last year, the FBI said. That surpassed the lowest violent crime rate the nation has had since 2014, when it was 372.4 per 100,000 residents, and many cities saw 30-year lows, an Axios analysis found. The rate was 370.4 in 2021, but that year the FBI collected data using two reporting systems, which makes the year not comparable. Meanwhile, the nation's property crime rate dropped to 1760.1 per 100,000 residents last year. That's also a 20-year low, according to an Axios analysis of FBI numbers. Zoom in: Overall violent crime dropped by 4.5% and all property crime decreased 8.1% from 2024 to 2023, the FBI said. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell 14.9% during the same period. Automobile theft went down a staggering 18.6%, FBI data showed. The intrigue: The FBI announcement made no mention of crime rates falling to 20-year lows — and didn't give out the crime rates per 100,000 residents as it does each year. The FBI also didn't say what was behind the drops. Context: Violent crime ticked up early in Biden's term, but reports show it's dropped significantly since then as law enforcement agencies responded to the pandemic surge and adopted more detailed recordkeeping. Throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump repeated false claims that immigration had sparked rising crime nationwide — a reason he gave for his mass deportation plan. What they're saying:"As the pandemic receded, criminal justice experts fully expected crime to decline," Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, told Axios. Rahman said the crime drops occurred, even while police staffing levels have declined in the past five years by around 5% nationwide. "What's driving these unprecedented gains in community safety is the government investment in community infrastructure from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act." Yes, but: The 2024 year-end data follows the Justice Department's April cancellation of $820 million in grants that had supported over 550 organizations focused on crime prevention research and services. What we're watching: The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) will continue to issue quarterly preliminary violent crime data from nearly 70 large cities.