logo
'Star's death' and 'farms turn to hosting weddings '

'Star's death' and 'farms turn to hosting weddings '

Yahoo29-05-2025
Here is our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media on Thursday 29 May.
The news that four police officers were attacked after disorder in Midsomer Norton performed well for Somerset Live. It was reported to have happened during a gathering of 200 school leavers. Avon and Somerset Police said its officers were "pushed, punched, and spat at" by "a small number of people" there.
A complaint about people smoking in the no-smoking zones outside Bristol Airport is picking up traction this morning for Bristol Live.
And this footage of a woman abusing a dog, which was captured on a doorbell camera, was one of the top posts for Bristol Live. The woman from Portishead has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Paul Danan died by 'misadventure' after taking drugs
'We make more money from weddings now than farming'
Nurse struck off after supermarket toilet filming
Cheltenham festival 2000 Trees has confirmed Irish language hip-hop group Kneecap will remain as one of its headliners. It comes after Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs in the band under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence by the Metropolitan Police after an alleged incident in London in November last year.
Elsewhere, a former nurse at the Royal United Hospital in Bath is turning 100. Bertha has no close family nearby and so the hospital has joined Bloomfield Care Centre, where she lives, to appeal for birthday cards.
A picture in the Stroud Area Photos group showing staff who worked at the old jam factory in Stonehouse about 100 years ago has also proved popular.
And finally, an update from Swindon Borough Council on Highworth Golf Course and options for its future has prompted plenty of comments on the authority's Facebook page.
Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Notre Dame rival Michigan finds out its fate from NCAA on ‘sign gate' scandal
Notre Dame rival Michigan finds out its fate from NCAA on ‘sign gate' scandal

USA Today

timea day ago

  • USA Today

Notre Dame rival Michigan finds out its fate from NCAA on ‘sign gate' scandal

While Notre Dame hasn't played Michigan since 2019, they are still viewed as a big rival for the Irish. On Friday, as the season approaches, the NCAA announced the penalty for the Wolverines surrounding its intricate sign stealing accusations as reported by Pete Thamel. Michigan will be on four years probation, a $50,000 fine with 10% of the budget for the football program, a fine that equates to all postseason revenue share, along with another fine of 10% of the costs of scholarships awarded. The total amount of fines could be close to $30 million. There will also be a 25% reduction in official visits during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and multiple people got show clauses including its former head coach Jim Harbaugh for 10-years, who now is in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. He previously was given a 4-year show cause penalty in 2024 for a different case. Both Connor Stallions (8-years) and Denard Robinson (3-years) also received show clauses, while current head coach Sherrone Moore got a 2-year show-cause order, and added another game suspension making it 3-games total. The Wolverines picked the games that Moore will not coach, which doesn't make any sense, as they opted for Moore to miss games three and four, while the NCAA added the first game of the 2026 season. He's also not allowed to coach or be with the team during those suspension weeks. It seems like Michigan got off pretty easy on this one, as there was no bowl or College Football Playoff ban, along with not vacating any of their wins during that period. Once again the NCAA has a questionable ruling on a team breaking the rules, one that impacted many during a run where the Wolverines made the CFP twice, winning it in 2024. Do you agree with the sanctions? Or are they too light? Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Man accused of faking his death to evade charges found guilty of rape in Utah
Man accused of faking his death to evade charges found guilty of rape in Utah

USA Today

time2 days ago

  • USA Today

Man accused of faking his death to evade charges found guilty of rape in Utah

A Rhode Island conman accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to avoid rape and sexual assault allegations has been convicted of felony rape in the first of two criminal cases against him in Utah, prosecutors said. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Alahverdian, 38, guilty of the first-degree rape of a 26-year-old Salt Lake County woman in 2008, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. The jury reached the guilty verdict on Wednesday, Aug. 13, following a three-day trial. 'We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement. "We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable." Alahverdian's conviction stems from charges that he raped his then-girlfriend, a woman whom he had met online, according to prosecutors. Shortly after the two began dating, prosecutors said Alahverdian told the woman they should get married and they purchased wedding rings. But Alahverdian soon became verbally and emotionally abusive, prosecutors said. An argument at a shopping mall turned violent, and when the couple returned to Alahverdian's apartment, he refused to let her leave and then raped her, according to prosecutors. The charge is punishable by five years to life in the Utah State Correctional Facility, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 20. Alahverdian, who was charged under his former surname Rossi, also faces additional rape charges involving a different woman in Utah in 2008. He has yet to go to trial on those charges. What to know. Nicholas Alahverdian extradited to US four years after faking his death. Nicholas Alahverdian extradited to U.S. in 2024 Alahverdian has been held without bail in a Utah county jail since January 2024, when authorities extradited him from Scotland. He had spent three years in Scotland pretending to be "Arthur Knight," a former Irish orphan and victim of misidentification, in an outlandish pretense that played out before international media and an extradition court. A Scottish judge, who had tolerated Alahverdian's charade during hearings on his identity, cleared the way for Alahverdian's return to the United States − concluding that he 'is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.' Alahverdian finally gave up his hoax in November 2024 while asking a Utah District Court judge for bail. During the hearing, he alleged that his years of deception and name changes were part of an effort to protect himself from 'death threats' and not because he was evading authorities. Prosecutors argued that Alahverdian, who uses oxygen and a wheelchair, remained a flight risk despite his physical condition. The judge denied bail, noting that Alahverdian's English wife was still providing him money 'that could assist him in potential flight." UK court could help decide: Is he a Utah rape suspect named Nick or an Englishman named Knight? Why did Nicholas Alahverdian fake his own death? Alahverdian, who grew up in foster care and later became a critic of Rhode Island's child welfare system, has alleged that he received death threats from unnamed state politicians for his advocacy work for children in state care a decade earlier. In 2017, he took a one-way fight to Ireland to escape those alleged threats and to pursue public relations work before he eventually made his way to Scotland. Prosecutors said Alahverdian tried to fake his own death and fled the United States to avoid being located. By 2019, Alahverdian was attempting to get his name removed from a registered sex offenders list, which requires offenders to keep police informed on their current address. During that time, the FBI also began investigating Alahverdian for credit card fraud after his former foster father told authorities that Alahverdian had spent $200,000 on cards taken out using his foster father's name and financial records. In January 2020, Alahverdian started to spread the word to Rhode Island media outlets that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The following month, a woman who described herself as Alahverdian's wife and a foundation under his name notified reporters that he had died. Then in September 2020, Utah County authorities issued an arrest warrant for Nicholas Rossi, which is the last name of his stepfather. Investigators later tracked him to Scotland after searching his iCloud account and bank records, and he was arrested at a hospital in December 2021 after waking up from a coma caused by COVID. Alahverdian, who has used several different aliases, has appealed in recent weeks to the judge in his Salt Lake County case that he now be charged under his birth name, Alahverdian. The judge has denied the request. What is Alahverdian accused of in Utah? Alahverdian was previously convicted of groping a woman at an Ohio community college in 2008, according to authorities. He then attempted to sue the woman for libel and had his appeal request tossed when his key piece of supposedly new evidence was ruled a fake blog post. Investigators said DNA from that case connected Alahverdian to the rape of a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in September 2008. The trial this week, which began on Aug. 11, stems from allegations that he raped his former girlfriend in November 2008. No DNA evidence tied him to that incident, investigators have said, but she came forward after recognizing Alahverdian during his international extradition case. As in the Orem case, authorities say Alahverdian met the Salt Lake City woman online. They dated briefly before the relationship quickly sped up and they bought wedding rings. But after a violent argument at a shopping mall − Alahverdian threatened to call the police and report that she had hit him if she didn't let him back in her car − the two returned to his apartment, where he raped her, police said. Nicholas Alahverdian case: American who faked his own death could return to US after bizarre trial ends in Scotland

Homicide investigator warns against rushing bikini designer's yacht death probe as lawyer reveals new details
Homicide investigator warns against rushing bikini designer's yacht death probe as lawyer reveals new details

Fox News

time2 days ago

  • Fox News

Homicide investigator warns against rushing bikini designer's yacht death probe as lawyer reveals new details

Martha Nolan was an Irish expat and New York fashion designer – until she turned up dead on a 54-foot yacht at a luxe marina on Long Island's East End. Ten days later, her cause of death remains unknown – leaving friends, family and followers to ponder what exactly happened to her on Aug. 5. According to Suffolk County police, forensic pathologists completed Nolan's autopsy a day later. They found no signs of violence, but her final cause of death is pending additional investigation. Police are likely waiting for the toxicology results, which typically will take longer than just a week or two. As a general rule, the county medical examiner doesn't provide a timeline for results, but they are expected to be shared with police when they come back. For their part, police have been largely silent as homicide detectives do their work. "It makes me nuts when police say 'no signs of foul play' too early in the investigation," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and professor of criminal justice at Penn State Lehigh Valley. "The standard line should be, 'We treat every death as if it's a homicide until we conclude our scene investigation, confer with the ME (medical examiner), and get back all necessary reports.' What police discovered at the scene and what the toxicology reports tell us, will allow the ME to make a certification." Town of East Hampton police arrived at the Montauk Yacht Club around midnight on Aug. 5 in response to a report of an unconscious woman on a 54-foot Sea Ray docked there. When officers arrived, good Samaritans were attempting CPR, according to authorities. But first responders pronounced Nolan dead at the scene. A preliminary scene investigation was inconclusive, police said. Suffolk County homicide detectives are now leading the investigation, and they have met with her family, according to their high-profile New York lawyer, Arthur Aidala. Aidala is disputing some reports that suggest a drug overdose is expected in Nolan's death, and he urged patience as the family awaits more information and investigators continue to probe the incident. While the homicide squad is working the case, Giacalone said it looks like they may be digging into someone other than the yacht owner. The yachtsman reportedly woke up people on a neighboring boat to call 911, according to the New York Post. "Running from boat to boat and throwing things at boats to wake people up is unusual if this is a homicide," Giacalone told Fox News Digital. "He owns two boats and no cellphone? Unlikely. He's 30-plus years older, and it sounds like panic. I hope they did more than a cursory scene investigation, however, hope is not a plan for death investigations." Aidala, the family's lawyer, also revealed Wednesday that police are conducting a comprehensive "technological analysis" as part of a "deep, deep" probe into the circumstances surrounding Nolan's death. "The text messages may play a part in this, however, she's going through a divorce, in some 60-year-old guy's yacht, she may not have told anyone exactly where and what she was doing," Giacalone told Fox News Digital. "Since 'sources' have said an overdose, maybe that will lead to the dealer, who can be prosecuted. One thing DA Tierney has done is prosecuted a number of dealers that have caused a death. That's why publicly stating a drug overdose is not helpful to the future investigation." Nolan was the founder of East x East, a boutique fashion company focused on beachwear and sunglasses. It also offered a Montauk-themed hoodie, emblazoned with the slogan, "I only love you in Montauk." The yacht owner was reportedly an investor in Nolan's business. At the time of her death, she was also going through a divorce from her husband, Sam Ryan.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store