BREAKING NEWS Former college football star Avantae Williams faces life in prison after arrest over deadly shooting
Williams, a former safety for Maryland and Miami, was arrested in connection with a fatal shooting that left one man dead and a bartender injured at a bar north of Orlando.
32-year-old Keshod Harris was shot six times during an altercation at McCabe's in DeLand, around 34 miles outside of Orlando, according to multiple reports.
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The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Alligator Alcatraz' civil rights case sees split ruling from Miami judge
A federal judge in Miami issued a split decision in a lawsuit over the legal rights of detainees at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as 'Alligator Alcatraz', dismissing part of the suit and also moving the case to a different jurisdiction. US district judge Rodolfo Ruiz issued the decision late on Monday, writing in a 47-page ruling that claims the detainees at the facility do not have confidential access to their lawyers or to hearings in immigration court were rendered moot when the Trump administration recently designated the Krome North processing center near Miami as a site for their cases to be heard. The judge heard arguments from both sides in a hearing earlier on Monday in Miami. Civil rights attorneys were seeking a preliminary injunction to ensure detainees at the facility have access to their lawyers and can get a hearing. The state and federal government had argued that even though the isolated airstrip where the facility is located is owned by Miami-Dade county, Florida's southern district was the wrong venue since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier county, which is in the state's middle district. Judge Ruiz had hinted during a hearing last week that he had some concerns over which jurisdiction was appropriate. 'Much has changed since the complaint's filing,' Ruiz wrote. Six of the plaintiffs have met with lawyers through videoconference, though they claimed the conferences are not confidential since they are not in an enclosed room and staff is close by and in listening proximity to the detainees. A subset of detainees alleged they are eligible for bond hearings and their lawyers have been 'unable to access – yet alone identify – the proper court for those hearings'. But Ruiz noted the facts in the case changed on Saturday, when the Trump administration designated the Krome facility as the immigration court with jurisdiction over all detainees at the detention center. Ruiz wrote that the case had 'a tortured procedural history' since it was filed on 16 July, weeks after the first group of detainees arrived at the facility. 'Nearly every aspect of the Plaintiffs' civil action – their causes of action, their facts in support, their theories of venue, their arguments on the merits and their requests for relief – have changed with each filing,' the judge wrote. The judge granted the state defendants' change of venue motion to the middle district of Florida, where the remaining claims of first amendment violations will be addressed. The state and federal government defendants made an identical argument last week about jurisdiction for a second lawsuit in which environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued to stop further construction and operations at the Everglades detention center until it is in compliance with federal environmental laws. US district judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on 7 August ordered a 14-day halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing that wrapped up last week. She has said she plans to issue a ruling before the order expires later this week. She had yet to rule on the venue question.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Ex-Fox News anchor's rape accuser ‘feels vindicated' after assault charge is dropped
Former Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart has said that she 'feels vindicated' after an assault charge against her was dropped. The podcaster, who recently settled a sexual assault lawsuit against former Fox News anchor Ed Henry, was booked by Florida's Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office last month on suspicion of battery during an incident allegedly involving her ex-boyfriend. The 34-year-old was accused of being 'combative' toward her ex, Thomas Beasley, after he tried to end the relationship, according to an arrest warrant. Eckhart denied the version of events in the police report. Now the Palm Beach County State Attorney has dropped the case against her due to 'insufficient evidence' and 'an uncooperative victim,' according to legal documents obtained by The Independent. Eckhart said that the ordeal had been 'highly distressing.' 'I feel vindicated that this matter has been resolved in my favor, with the state declining to file any charges,' Eckhart told The Independent, alleging that she 'acted in self defense' but not elaborating further. Eckhart is the host of the REINVITED podcast and runs a non-profit called The Reinvited Project, which aims to support trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy. 'My mission has always been to turn pain into purpose — through my platform, I will continue standing alongside survivors of assault, abuse, and domestic violence, reminding them they are not alone and that strength and healing are possible,' Eckhart added. Beasley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent. 'Ms. Eckhart is innocent and was purely acting in self defense,' Eckhart's attorney, Michelle Suskauer, said. 'We are pleased that the state did the right thing and did not pursue this matter any further.' On June 15, Eckhart settled her 2020 lawsuit against ex-Fox News anchor Ed Henry, in which she accused him of rape. Henry, who was fired from Fox News in July 2020, denied the allegations. He now works for another right-wing news network, NewsMax. In the lawsuit, Eckhart alleged that the former Fox News anchor 'groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced' her into a sexual relationship while referring to her as his personal 'sex slave.' Eventually, after she 'would not comply voluntarily' with his sexual demands, she claimed he violently raped her in 2017. 'This has been an exhaustive, retraumatizing, five-year legal battle with incredible challenges that at times I almost felt was unable to bear,' Eckhart told PEOPLE after her settlement. 'With this settlement in place, a weight has now been lifted from my shoulders and my passion to support fellow trauma survivors has been renewed.' Fox News was initially a defendant in Eckhart's lawsuit, as she claimed the network downplayed the severity of the risk Henry posed to female employees and retaliated against her by firing her in June 2020 after she complained about a hostile work environment. Prior to the settlement, Fox News was dismissed as a defendant from the case. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams said there was 'no direct evidence that Fox News was aware of Henry's alleged harassment of Eckhart before it occurred.' Additionally, Abrams agreed with Fox's legal team that 'no reasonable jury' would find the network liable for preventing 'Henry from harming Eckhart.' 'This matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, and the parties are moving on with their lives,' Henry's attorney said in a statement when the settlement was reached.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Jury selection begins in trial of matriarch charged with arranging her ex-son-in-law's death
Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of the matriarch of a South Florida family on charges of orchestrating the hit man murder of her ex-son-in-law. Donna Adelson is accused of arranging the 2014 killing of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, who was shot in the head inside his Tallahassee garage. Adelson faces charges of first-degree murder, as well as conspiracy and solicitation to commit first-degree murder, in a trial that could extend into the week of Sept. 8. Adelson is the latest to go on trial for what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot to kill Markel, her former son-in-law, who had been involved in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, lawyer Wendi Adelson. Markel had gotten a court order barring her from moving from Tallahassee back to South Florida with their two young sons to be closer to her family, who made their fortune practicing dentistry. Authorities say Donna Adelson helped orchestrate the plot to murder Markel, conspiring with her son Charles Adelson and his then-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, who prosecutors say served as the go-between with two men hired to carry out the killing, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera. Charles Adelson, Magbanua and her ex-boyfriend, Garcia, were all sentenced to life in prison after being convicted earlier of first-degree murder. Garcia's friend, Rivera, is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and testifying against the others. The case has riveted Florida's capital for more than a decade, as sordid details emerged about a messy divorce, tensions with in-laws and child custody battles that culminated in the murder of a prominent local professor. Donna Adelson was arrested in 2023 as she and her husband were about to use one-way tickets to board a flight to Vietnam, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. The arrest came one week after her oral surgeon son was found guilty. Authorities say the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million to let his ex-wife and sons move to South Florida, but then members of the family began plotting his death. Wendi Adelson and her father, Harvey Adelson, have denied involvement and have not been charged. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
