UK, France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan have condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians' seeking food.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wrongfully imprisoned Maryland man who spent 32 years behind bars sues former authorities
Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man who was wrongly imprisoned for 32 years, including a decade on death row, for two killings he did not commit is suing former law enforcement officials in a lawsuit announced Thursday, though four of the five people named as defendants are deceased. John Huffington was pardoned by then-Gov. Larry Hogan in January 2023. Hogan cited prosecutorial misconduct in granting a full innocence pardon to Huffington in connection with a 1981 double slaying in Harford County. A Maryland board approved $2.9 million in compensation for Huffington later that year during Gov. Wes Moore's administration. Huffington said in a statement Thursday that 'it took many, many painful years, but the truth eventually came out.' Just 18 at the time of his arrest, he said neither of his parents ever got to see and understand that his name had been cleared and he was set free. "All of those years I spent behind bars damaged and strained my relationships, cost me the ability to have a family of my own, cost me the ability to be with my mother when she died, cost me precious time with my father who was in his nineties and suffering from Alzheimer's when I finally was released,' he added. Huffington, 62, always maintained his innocence. He was released from Patuxent Institution in 2013 after serving 32 years of two life sentences. He was convicted twice in the killings known as the 'Memorial Day Murders.' Diane Becker was stabbed to death in her recreational vehicle, while her 4-year-old son, who was inside, was not harmed. Joseph Hudson, Becker's boyfriend, was fatally shot and found a few miles (kilometers) away. A second suspect in the slayings testified against Huffington, was convicted of first-degree murder, and served 27 years. Prosecutors relied on testimony that was later discredited about hair found at the crime scene purportedly matching Huffington's. He appealed his first conviction in 1981. In 1983, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to death. Prosecutors later commuted that sentence to two life terms. Questions about evidence in the case arose when The Washington Post uncovered an FBI report in 2011 that found the FBI agent who analyzed hair evidence in Huffington's case may not have used reliable science, or even tested the hair at all. The report had been written in 1999, but Harford County State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly didn't provide it to Huffington's lawyers. A Frederick County judge vacated Huffington's convictions and ordered a new trial in 2013 after Huffington presented new evidence using DNA testing that was not available during his earlier trials. When the hair evidence was tested for DNA more than 30 years later, the results showed it was not Huffington's hair. Maryland's highest court unanimously voted to disbar Cassilly in 2021. The court found he withheld exculpatory evidence in the 1981 double murder and lied about it in the following years. Cassilly, who maintained he did nothing wrong, retired in 2019. He died in January. His brother, Bob Cassilly, who is now the Harford County executive, said in a statement that his brother was a decorated war hero who was injured while serving his country and served as the county's state's attorney for 36 years while in a wheelchair. 'Joe cannot defend himself in this decades-old matter because he is now deceased, as are the other named defendants, except for one who is almost 80,' Cassilly said. 'Harford County government, in which I currently serve as county executive, has no role in this case -- the county was never the defendants' employer." Huffington also is suing the assistant state's attorney on his case, Gerard Comen, the Harford County government, and the county sheriff's office detectives, David Saneman, William Van Horn and Wesley J. Picha. All but Saneman are now dead, according to the lawsuit filed July 15 in federal court in Baltimore. Saneman told The Washington Post on Wednesday he had not seen or heard of the lawsuit and declined to comment. Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
US and Mexico sign accord to combat Tijuana River sewage flowing across the border
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The United States and Mexico have signed an agreement outlining specific steps and a new timetable to clean up the longstanding problem of the Tijuana River pouring sewage across the border and polluting California beaches, officials from both countries announced Thursday. Billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana have polluted the Pacific Ocean off neighboring Southern California, closing beaches and sickening Navy SEALs who train in the water. That's despite multiple efforts and millions of dollars that have been poured into addressing the problem over decades, including under the first Trump administration. 'There is a great commitment by the two countries to strengthen cooperation,' Mexico's Environmental Secretary Alicia Bárcena said Thursday after meeting with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in Mexico City for the signing of the memorandum of understanding. The accord comes three months after Zeldin flew to San Diego to meet with Mexican officials and visit the border. 'I smelled what a lot of residents in the community lived through and have to deal with," he said Thursday. "I saw the degradation of the Tijuana River valley. I heard about the beaches that were closed. I met with the Navy Seals, who have had their training impacted. It was a powerful visit all around for me.' Under the agreement, Mexico will complete its allocation of $93 million toward infrastructure projects, including adhering to a specific schedule for priority projects spanning through 2027. The 120-mile-long (195-kilometer) Tijuana River runs near the coast in Mexico and crosses into Southern California, where it flows through Navy-owned land and out to the Pacific. As Tijuana's wastewater treatment plants have aged, its population and industry -- including the manufacturing plants, known as maquiladoras that make U.S. goods — have boomed. At the same time, there has been an increase in the amount of toxins that have made their way into the river and into San Diego County — since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons of raw sewage laden with industrial chemicals and trash. The pollution has sickened not only swimmers, surfers and lifeguards but also schoolchildren, Border Patrol agents and others who do not even go in the water. Scientists say the sewage is vaporized when it foams up and enters the air people breathe. California beaches near the border have been closed more often than not over the past four years. 'The communities along the Tijuana River have suffered this public health crisis for far too long,' said Kristan Culbert, associate director of California river conservation at American Rivers, in a statement Thursday. Since 2020, more than $653 million in funds have been allocated to address the issue, but the crisis has continued largely because of delays by the Mexican government, Zeldin has said. Zeldin said this agreement factors in 'population growth, operation and maintenance costs, and other variables that would make this solution durable and long term.' He praised the new administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last October, for its willingness to address the issue. Sheinbaum said earlier Thursday that her government would expand a wastewater treatment plant that would reduce the contamination reaching the coast. 'There are other actions that were signed that we have to complete, that we're going to get done in the next year for the entire Tijuana sanitation system, for the entire metropolitan Tijuana area," she said. Sheinbaum said the United States also has to make investments in the binational problem. Referring to another agreement to send more water to the U.S. to reduce Mexico's water debt in the Rio Grande, Sheinbaum said the Tijuana River agreement 'is a good example of how when our technical teams sit down, they can resolve a problem that seemed unsolvable.' _____
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Photos this week: July 17-24, 2025
A man stands at the broken windows of his house after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, July 21. Residents of Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities faced another sleepless night on Sunday as Russia launched 450 missiles and drones overnight into Monday, Ukraine's Air Force said. The majority were shot down, the Air Force said, but 23 struck across three locations and debris from intercepted missiles landed in 12 areas. Efrem Lukatsky/AP A machine gun and flak jacket, belonging to a Ukrainian serviceman, hang on a wall near the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar on Tuesday, July 22. Chasiv Yar is on the front lines of the country's war with Russia. Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters People gather in Folkestone, England, to dance to Kate Bush's 1978 hit song 'Wuthering Heights' on Sunday, July 20. They wore red dresses to re-enact Bush's iconic music President Donald Trump, second from left, tours the renovation site of the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday, July 24. He was joined by US Sen. Tim Scott, left, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, right. The long-simmering clash between Trump and Powell was on full public display during the tour. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Children in Sanaa, Yemen, react as protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, show solidarity with Palestinians on Friday, July 18. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters Lovely Jean Baptiste, a 16-year-old who was shot in the mouth by armed gangs, poses for a portrait Thursday, July 17, at the Argentine Bellegarde School, which has been turned into a shelter for displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Claraens Siffroy/AFP/Getty Images Mario Barrios, left, tries to avoid a punch from Hall of Fame boxer Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight title bout in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 19. Pacquiao, 46, was making his first appearance in the ring in nearly four years. He fell just short of taking the title of Barrios, who retained the WBC belt with a majority draw. John Locher/AP Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, right, celebrates with teammates after he hit a walk-off home run to defeat the Kansas City Royals on Friday, July 18. He hit two homers in the Aguilar prepares to enter the flooded Barasoain church for her wedding in Malolos, Philippines, on Tuesday, July 22. The church flooded due to heavy rain from Typhoon Wipha, but she and her fiancé pushed through with their wedding anyway. Aaron Favila/AP This aerial photo, taken on Tuesday, July 22, shows surfers swimming past waves in the Atlantic Ocean near Carcans, France. Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images Dylan Mortensen gets a hug after speaking at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, July 23. Kohberger, who murdered four University of Idaho students in 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Kyle Green/Pool/AP Late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert speaks to his audience on Monday, July 21. It was his first night back on 'The Late Show' since the shocking news that CBS is canceling it. The network, citing financial pressures, said the cancellation will take effect in May 2026, the normal end of the broadcast TV season. Scott Kowalchyk/CBS/Getty Images Scottie Scheffler hugs his wife, Meredith, and their son, Bennett, after he won the Open Championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland, on Sunday, July 20. It's the fourth major title for Scheffler, the world's top-ranked player who also won the PGA Championship earlier this season. Oisin Keniry/R&A/Getty Images Crime scene tape cordons off part of the area where a Bangladeshi Air Force jet crashed into a school in the capital of Dhaka on Monday, July 21. At least 27 people, mostly children, were killed, according to officials. Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images Aidan Keen and Mark McGlaughlin rest at Neebel Park in Hartley, Iowa, on Sunday, July 20. They were taking part in the first day of RAGBRAI, or Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. See last week in 32 photos. Ayrton Breckenridge/The Register/Imagn Images
