New Orleans jailbreak: escaped inmates still on the run — latest
A New Orleans jail employee arrested on suspicion of aiding the escape of ten inmates claims he was forced to help or else he would be 'shanked'.
Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker, has been charged with ten counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office in connection with the breakout on Friday.
The Louisiana attorney-general's office said Williams admitted turning off the water stream to a toilet so the inmates could remove it and squeeze through a hole in a wall behind it.
Williams said one of the escapers had threatened to 'shank' him if he did not turn off the water, according to an arrest affidavit. Williams's lawyer said he intends to plead not guilty.
Police allege in
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Terrifying moment Brit photographer films himself being shot in HEAD with rubber bullet during LA immigration riots
THIS is the terrifying moment a British veteran photographer is shot in the head during the frenzied protests in Los Angeles. Dad-of-two Toby Canham was left with a severe head wound after he was fired at by a Californian police officer with a rubber bullet. 6 6 Canham, 59, was standing just off the 101 Freeway in downtown LA reporting from a tense standoff between cops and protesters on Sunday. The police were stationed beneath the bridge at a low level and just 100 yards away from Canham and his camera. The photographer, who has previously served in the British Army, was on assignment for the New York Post at the time. Hundreds of rioters had gathered above the highway during the protests - prompting journalists to closely watch the chaos. But an unlucky Canham was caught by a bullet fired from a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer. Footage captured by the veteran showed the cop suddenly position himself behind a pack of fellow officers behind a pillar. Moments later he opened fire towards the top of the freeway. It is unclear what prompted the stray bullet. Canham was savagely hit directly in the forehead and quickly collapsed to the ground. He could be heard screaming in agony: "F***, f***, I just got shot in the head!". The Sun's Katy Forrester Reporting Live from Los Angeles The journalist was helped back to his feet by horrified onlookers who quickly noticed a big red mark appearing. Pictures show Canham being treated at the scene with a noticeable gash in the middle of his head from the powerful rubber bullet. He was taken to hospital late on Sunday and spent most of Monday being treated for whiplash and neck pain. Canham said after the ordeal: "When I got whacked, to my best recollection it was just me filming with my cameras on and then I got shot. "Where I was hit, I was the only person overlooking the freeway. I wasn't surrounded so I was an easy target." Canham also recalled just minutes before being hit, a flashbang exploded a mere few feet away from him. It left him with two rips in his trousers from flying shrapnel. A protester nearby reportedly launched a water bottle at authorities in retaliation. On the same day, a TV journalist was shot live on air as she reported on the violent immigration riots in downtown LA. Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi was covering the protests for Nine News when she was hit at close range by a rubber bullet. The ordeal caused her to collapse in agony mid-broadcast. Elsewhere, a British photojournalist was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery when a 'sponge bullet' tore through his thigh during the same night of carnage. Nick Stern, 60, from Hertford, said he had made himself clearly visible as a member of the press when he was shot while photographing a standoff between protesters and riot cops. LA's streets have turned into a warzone since Friday as heavily armed riot cops used tear gas and rubber bullets to stop incoming rioters. Sunday night saw the worst of the protests with police being forced to defend the city as people set cars on fire and looted shops. The chaos has continued for five days with California now announcing a curfew for downtown LA between 8pm and 6am. The anti-ICE and anti-Donald Trump demonstrations have spread to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and other major cities since. 6 6 6
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump's hush money case is back in court. These judges could decide what happens next
The appeals process begins in earnest on Wednesday, after a New York City jury last year convicted Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a scheme to silence an adult film star, whose story about having sex with Trump threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign. That unanimous conviction on May 30 — and a judge's sentencing on January 10 that preserved the historic verdict — ensured that Trump would return to the White House as the first-ever criminally convicted president. The conviction carried no consequences for the president. Still, it left an indelible stain he has so far failed to remove despite successfully fighting off federal indictments that consumed his 2024 campaign. But his legal battle isn't over. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in Manhattan will hear oral arguments as his attorneys attempt to transfer the case from New York criminal court to federal jurisdiction, a process known as 'removal.' The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg opposes the move, arguing such a case cannot be removed to federal court after a conviction. But attorneys for the president claim that his 'unprecedented prosecution 'belongs there. If the case is moved to federal court, Justice Department lawyers could theoretically dismiss it. In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Trump's then-attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 for the rights to her story, one of several so-called hush money schemes the president arranged with tabloid publishers to prevent embarrassing stories from being published anywhere. Trump then reimbursed Cohen in a series of checks, some of which were cut from the White House. Those reimbursements were falsely recorded in accounting records as 'legal expenses,' fulfilling what prosecutors called a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election unlawfully. A weeks-long trial in Manhattan criminal court last year included blockbuster testimony from Cohen, Daniels, White House aides, and Trump's allies. At the same time, emails, phone records, text messages, invoices, checks with Trump's Sharpie-inked signature, and other documents — including a handwritten note from his accountants that outlined the math for Cohen's checks — gave jurors the paper trail. Days before Trump's inauguration, and more than seven months after the jury's decision, New York Justice Juan Merchan handed Trump a sentence that preserved the verdict without any criminal consequences. Manhattan prosecutors and Judge Merchan agreed that the only remaining option for the conclusion of the case — navigating a landmark Supreme Court decision on 'immunity' and the potential interference with his second term — meant abandoning a typical sentence of jail, fines or probation. 'The only lawful sentence' that remained for Trump's crimes is that of an 'unconditional discharge,' Merchan told Trump during his sentencing hearing on January 10. Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing. His attorneys, whom the president has appointed to top roles at the Department of Justice, argued that certain evidence used at trial should have been withheld from jurors under the Supreme Court's 'immunity' decision, which shields the president from criminal prosecution for 'official' acts in office. However, those arguments were rejected by Judge Merchan, the New York appeals court, and the Supreme Court, which stated that Trump's challenges to 'alleged evidentiary violations' could be addressed through the normal course of appeal. Meanwhile, Trump's long-simmering fight to move the case entirely out of the hands of state courts will be heard before a panel of federal appeals court judges. The president has hired the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to support his federal appeal. Last month, Justice Department lawyers filed a supporting brief in the case, arguing that the judges should throw it out entirely. Trump is simultaneously appealing an $83 million verdict in a defamation case from E. Jean Carroll as well as a massive judgment against him in a sprawling civil fraud case, with interest growing to more than half a billion dollars owed to the state of New York after the president and his top associates defrauded banks and investors to benefit his real-estate empire.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US cities brace for more protests as parts of Los Angeles placed under curfew
LOS ANGELES, June 11 (Reuters) - Several U.S. cities braced for protests on Wednesday against President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids, as parts of the country's second largest city Los Angeles spent the night under curfew in an effort to quell five days of unrest. The Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard this week, ahead of planned protests. Protesters and police in Austin clashed on Monday. Trump's extraordinary measures of sending National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles has sparked a national debate on the use of military on U.S. soil and pitted the Republican president against California's Democrat governor. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a video address on Tuesday. "He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. ... Democracy is under assault." Newsom, widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, and the state of California sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from Trump, after he also ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard to the city. Marines and National Guard are to be used in the protection of government personnel and buildings and not in police action. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployments were not necessary as police could manage the protest, the majority of which have been peaceful, and limited to about five streets. However, due to looting and violence at night she imposed a curfew over one square mile of the city's downtown, starting Tuesday night. The curfew will last several days. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests" were initiated. Police earlier said that 197 people had already been arrested on Tuesday - more than double the total number of arrests to date. Democratic leaders have raised concerns over a national crisis in what has become the most intense flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on opponents who take to the streets in protest. Trump, voted back into office last year largely for his promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honoring soldiers on Tuesday to defend his decision. He told troops at the army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina: "Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness." "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags," Trump said, adding his administration would "liberate Los Angeles." Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. Homeland Security said on Monday its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Protests have also taken place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where demonstrators shouted at and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed onto the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished. Texas Governor Abbott said late on Tuesday that he will deploy the National Guard, which "will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." "Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," Abbott posted on X. South Texas organizations are expected to hold anti-ICE rallies on Wednesday and Saturday, CNN reported local media as saying. About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50 km) south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a U.S. official said. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. "Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law," Bonta said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to redouble the immigration raids in response to the street protests. The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.
