Latest news with #Seals
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Father lucky to be alive after stray bullet hits neck
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was a scary situation in Frayser, as a man survived a stray bullet to the neck over the weekend. Cornelius Seals, a father of four, says he walked out and thought he heard fireworks, when instead it was gunfire. 'It was just a regular day,' he said. 'My brother got his kids out here, so they just walking around and I hear, like, fireworks and my instincts was like, where did they get fireworks from?' Police responded to the shooting on Donna Drive near Burnham Avenue just after 8 p.m. on Saturday. Teen charged with murder in Frayser shooting, robbery Surveillance footage shows his kids were outside as well, so Seals' first instinct as a father was to protect his kids as he was later rushed to the hospital by a neighbor. 'And you run outside and you end up getting shot in the neck, and they shooting for real. Where all the kids at?' Seals said. Seals, who moved from Denver a few years ago says Frayser has been getting too violent recently, with 20 reported homicides this year alone, and says he plans to move away. 'I have to for the safety of my family. I don't want to move but I have to, I can't take any more shootouts,' Seals said. 'I gotta get far away.' Data says there have been 20 homicides in Frayser this year The bullet is still in Seals' neck, as doctor's say it was too close to his spine to remove it. ► A Gofundme account has been set up for Cornelius Seals. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Drag racing' teen guilty of vehicular homicide sentenced for fatal Iowa City crash
A second teenager accused of drag racing in a fatal Iowa City crash has been sentenced to serve a maximum of 10 years in prison. Kesean Ford and Elijah Seals, then each 17 at the time, collided with 22-year-old Jennifer Russell's vehicle while locked in what police believe was a side-by-side "drag race" down East Court Street on May 27, 2023. More: Iowa's Big Grove Brewery is headed south, revealing plans for Kansas City taproom Seals and Ford allegedly failed to stop at the posted sign and their vehicles collided with Russell's car, which had just entered the intersection. Witnesses reported seeing the vehicles traveling at a high speed down Court Street, according to police reports. Russell died from her injuries a short time later. Russell's family filed a civil lawsuit in July 2023 against Seals, Ford and the companies that insure their vehicles. The case was dismissed later that year without prejudice because of a procedural error. The Johnson County Attorney's Office filed criminal charges less than a week after the lawsuit was dismissed. Ford, 19, was sentenced Monday, May 19, after pleading guilty in February to one count of homicide by a vehicle traveling more than 25 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, a Class "C" felony in Iowa. A judge sentenced him to an "indeterminate term not to exceed 10 years," meaning Ford could be released before serving the full length of his term. More: Man charged in Iowa City bank robbery denied insanity plea, sentenced to 5 years in prison Seals pleaded guilty in 2024 to reckless driving causing homicide by vehicle. As part of their plea deals, Seals and Ford agreed to pay the Russell family $150,000 in victim restitution. Ford is also responsible for approximately $15,000 in additional payments for funeral costs and other minor court expenses. Seals entered an Alford Plea in September, which allowed him to plead guilty without admitting he committed a crime. He instead only acknowledged that a jury would likely find him guilty of vehicular homicide because of reckless driving if the case went to trial. In December, Seals was given a 10-year suspended sentence. He was informed he could avoid prison time if he completed three years of probation under certain conditions, including "commit(ing) no new law violations." Seals' license was also revoked as part of his plea agreement and sentencing. More: Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law banning citizen police review boards. What the bill does: On May 14, Iowa City police initiated a traffic stop on Seals' vehicle. The 19-year-old allegedly "ran from the vehicle on foot" before the officer reached the car. Criminal complaints indicate that the officer didn't immediately pursue Seals, though he was apprehended when he allegedly returned "to claim the vehicle." Seals' probation is supervised by the Sixth Judicial Circuit's Department of Correctional Services. A hearing will be held if his probation officer decides to revoke his probation or if he holds Seals in contempt of court. A judge could decide to affirm that Seals was in contempt of court and sentence him to jail time or revoke his probation. Seals would be required to serve the remainder of the 10-year prison sentence if his probation is revoked, minus time served. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: 2nd 'Drag racing' teen sentenced to prison for fatal Iowa City crash
El Chorouk
14-05-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
Algerian State Supports the Implementation of Capital Punishment for Drug Barons
The Algerian state is determined to wage a relentless war against drug gangs and to combat this crime, thanks to its dedicated men, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, Lotfi Boudjemaa, said on Tuesday evening in Algiers in response to the MPs of the National People's Assembly concerns regarding the draft drug prevention law. The Minister explained that 'the situation is dangerous. Although this is a war against Algeria, the country is determined, thanks to its loyal men from the security forces and the National People's Army, to eradicate drug gangs', adding that 'the sword of justice will reach and cut off the heads of these gangs.' The Minister attributed the recent amendment of the law on the prevention of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to the dangerous spread of this phenomenon, which necessitated its reconsideration and 'putting an end to this crime through deterrent measures.' He recalled the massive quantities of hallucinogenic pills seized in various parts of the country. In this context, and regarding introducing the death penalty, the Minister of Justice stated that Algeria, 'as a state, has the sovereignty to make any decision to combat crime according to the perspective it deems appropriate.' Given the gravity of the situation, the Algerian state has deemed it 'necessary to implement this penalty.' Regarding the proposal to require negative medical tests for drug and psychotropic substance use in applicants for recruitment competitions, Boudjemaa confirmed that the goal of this measure is to 'take care of those concerned in the event of positive results,' with the measure being referred to the competent authority to determine how to implement it. In the same context, the Minister of Justice confirmed that all wilayas include addiction treatment centers, and that, in implementation of the instructions of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 'four more modern centers will be built to care for drug victims.' Regarding the financial incentives for whistleblowers included in the draft law, the minister stated that Algeria is the only Arab country to adopt this measure. He noted that it involves providing a financial incentive to anyone who contributes information that leads to positive results, and that 'any information intended to implicate someone bears full responsibility.' Regarding the possibility of resorting to closing hotels, the Minister explained that the article 'addresses the hotel owner or person in charge who has used the place a centrer for drug trafficking.' In response to the MPs' questions, the Minister of Justice also addressed the issue of promoting drug use through any means (songs,… etc), reiterating that promoting any crime is punishable by law. In another context, Boudjemaa urged people not to be swayed by unverified news and information, noting that if the public needs to be informed about a case, 'the public prosecutor's offices provide the information via press releases.' The Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, provided clarifications regarding the information recently circulated on social media about the rape of '40 kids in Oran (western Algeria)' by one individual, and the arrest of a ministry employee in possession of a quantity of drugs and mobile phones.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman dies
PITTSBURGH (WKBN) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Ray Seals has died at the age of 59. The cause of death is unknown. He was a standout on the Pittsburgh team that reached Super Bowl XXX. He did not play college football, gaining the attention of NFL scouts while playing for the semi-pro Syracuse Express. Seals, who played two seasons with Pittsburgh in 1994-95, appeared in 29 games with the Steelers in the NFL. He piled up 15.5 sacks, three total tackles, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. Prior to his time with the Steelers, Seals played eight seasons with Tampa Bay. He also played one season with the Carolina Panthers. For his career, Seals appeared in 90 games with 32 career sacks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Warfare review: A combat epic that 'does what film does best'
Alex Garland explored the slide into fractious factionalism in Civil War. Now he turns his gaze towards the ferocity of combat in new film Warfare, which stars Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis and Charles Melton. Joseph Quinn's excruciating howls of pain go on and on, and on and on in Warfare, continuing long after most films would have moved forward. The relentlessness of those cries, with his leg one bloody open wound, defines what is so unique and effective about this real-time 90-minute immersion into an actual US mission in Iraq. Alex Garland, the writer and director of Civil War, and Ray Mendoza, a veteran who was its military advisor, have co-directed a bold marvel of a film. Together, Garland's virtuosity and Mendoza's first-hand experience create a masterful technical achievement that is, more important, emotionally harrowing. Warfare feels even more visceral because it arrives when actual wars are raging, from Israel and Gaza to Ukraine, giving the film more immediacy than it might have had even just five years ago. Civil War extrapolated from today's politically divided world into a near-future where combat tears across the US. The film's marketing, somewhat disingenuously, claimed it was apolitical, but that was only true in the sense that this dire warning didn't endorse specific political parties. Warfare is more truly apolitical, focusing on the nature of war itself by way of one that happens to be in Iraq. Mendoza was part of the 2006 mission the film depicts, an operation that was not major or particularly notable, just a cog in the war machine. Minutes into the film, a group of US Navy Seals – played by first-rate actors including Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Charles Melton, Kit Connor and D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai – creep into an Iraqi town to do surveillance ahead of ground troops arriving the next day. They take over a house, dragging its residents out of bed and smashing through a wall between two apartments, and soon spot al-Qaeda jihadists gathering across the street. Tension builds, but nothing prepares us for the shattering sound or the bloody impact when a grenade is lobbed into their window. Let's not exaggerate that immersive element. Sitting in a cinema doesn't come close to the reality of combat, but Warfare does what film does best, recreating the feelings of fear and simple will to live when you are trapped, a sitting target for armed men doing their best to kill you. Garland and Mendoza's rigorous approach to the screenplay makes this film more docudrama than fiction. They relied entirely on the accounts of the men who were part of the mission, cross-checking to account for faulty memories. They invented no plot twists, and drop us into the action without any backstory about the characters. The dialogue is restricted to the military shorthand the Seals would have used, with no time for the jokey banter most war movies indulge in. That sounds dry, but every actor makes it work, partly because they have faces that hold the screen. Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs) is a central character, playing Mendoza himself, a communications officer relaying by radio the team's locations and information back to home base. Woon-A-Tai captures the intensity of the job. If he fails, it all goes wrong. The film doesn't explain its military jargon, but it's easy enough to grasp that when he radios for a "casevac" it means a casualty evacuation for the wounded. Poulter plays the officer in charge of the group, and has one of the few memorable lines. When help is nearby and he can't pinpoint his exact location, he tells them: "Look for the blood and the smoke. We're there." Quinn is a standout even before his character's injuries, conveying a fear and sense of danger not far from the surface. But the effectiveness of the real-time approach is felt most strongly after he is wounded, and his inescapable cries continue in the background even as the others strategise how to move him and Jarvis's severely wounded character out when US tanks arrive. As Civil War demonstrated, Garland is an expert at creating intense action scenes. When the Seals attempt to leave, another grenade explodes on the street. Sound becomes muffled. The screen fills with smoke so that it feels like night. When the smoke clears, there are wounded men and a severed leg on the ground. In real-life news reports, the most graphic videos usually come with warnings that the images might be disturbing, but Garland and Mendoza don't let us look away. Warfare is in a line of films about divisive conflicts, from Vietnam (Apocalypse Now) to Iraq (The Hurt Locker), that have focused on the soldiers rather than the politics. But no war film is entirely detached from its setting, and Garland and Mendoza acknowledge that in a significant way. The Iraqi civilians don't get much time on screen, but the impact of those scenes is enormous. As a father, mother and their two small children cower together in the corner of a bedroom, the Americans' reassurances that they won't be hurt seem hollow. These people are civilians held at gunpoint as their home is destroyed around them simply because it is in a convenient location for surveillance. They are both specific to Iraq and stand-ins for innocent victims of wars everywhere. Apolitical though Warfare is, with its blood-soaked scenes and brutal sounds, it seems to question the wisdom of settling any conflict, even or especially one about global power and politics, with the kind of violence this film draws us into so intimately. ★★★★★ -- If you liked this story sign up for The Essential List newsletter, a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram
