Vermont reports second flood-related death
PLAINFIELD, Vermont – A second person has died in Vermont in flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, officials said Thursday.
John Rice, 73, died as he drove his vehicle through a flooded street in Lyndonville Thursday morning, Police Chief Jack Harris said. Floodwater currents swept the vehicle off the road and into a hay field that was under 10 feet of water.
Rice ignored warnings from passersby to turn back, said Lt. Charles Winn of the Vermont State Police. Rice’s body was recovered several hours later after the floodwaters receded. Another man, identified as Dylan Kempton, 33, was driving an all-terrain vehicle late Wednesday night when it was swept away by floodwaters in Peacham, Vermont State Police said in a statement. His body was recovered Thursday morning.
More than 100 people were rescued by whitewater rescue teams during the worst of the rains, which began Wednesday and continued into Thursday, officials said.
In Plainfield, a concrete bridge is believed to have collapsed and fallen downstream, causing part of a five-unit apartment building to be demolished, said Michael Billingsley, the city’s emergency management director.
A patrol car plunged down a 30-foot embankment Wednesday night as the trooper tried to avoid a power pole and power lines blocking the road in Monkton, south of Burlington. The trooper was not seriously injured, state police said.
New York judge to overturn Trump’s verdict
NEW YORK – Donald Trump’s lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money trial to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
“Instead of waiting for the Supreme Court’s instructions, prosecutors hubristically scoffed at President Trump’s immunity requests and insisted on speeding up the trial,” Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in documents released Thursday. “Your Honor now has the authority to address these injustices, and the Court is obligated to do so in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Trump’s sentencing was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed until Judge Juan Merchan makes a decision on whether to overturn Trump’s conviction for forgery.
Merchan has said he will rule on the defense’s motion on September 6 and convict Trump on September 18, “if it is still necessary.” Prosecutors have until July 24 to respond to the defense’s arguments.
Californian arrested for murder of his family
ALAMEDA, Calif. – A California man is in custody after fatally shooting his wife, their 6-year-old son and his in-laws, a San Francisco Bay Area police department said Thursday.
A second son, 1 year old, was also shot and is in critical condition in the hospital, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said at a news conference Thursday.
Officers arrived at an Alameda residence around 9 p.m. Wednesday after a neighbor called 911. The suspect’s shot father-in-law went to the neighbor for help, Joshi said.
The victim made statements to police before his death, Joshi said.
The other family members were found in the house, where police recovered several firearms. Police believe the shooting occurred.
Shane Killian was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, police spokeswoman Sarah Henry said.
The police did not disclose a motive. The investigation is ongoing.
Menendez consultations begin on Friday
NEW YORK – A New York jury was told Thursday that it will begin deliberating on charges against Senator Bob Menendez in his bribery trial after hearing legal instructions on Friday.
Judge Sidney Stein began reading instructions to the jury after 3 p.m.
Prosecutors allege that from 2018 to 2022, Menendez, D-N.J., accepted nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from three New Jersey businessmen to abuse his power as a senator for their own benefit.
Menendez has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges.
“I look forward to the jury hearing the case tomorrow,” he said as he left the federal court in Manhattan.
The senator is on trial with two of the businessmen – Fred Daibes and Wael Hana – who have also pleaded not guilty. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the others.
Menendez’s wife, Nadine, pleaded not guilty, but her trial was postponed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and required surgery.
In a counterargument on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal said Menendez helped Egyptian officials obtain confidential information about the number of Americans and Egyptians working at the U.S. embassy in Egypt.
Adam Fee, a lawyer for Menendez, told jurors that the information was in the public domain, adding that everything Menendez did was within his responsibilities as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
John Companion (left) dumps a bucket of muddy water as he helps his friend Scott Mackie (right) clear out his flooded basement while cleaning up the remnants of Hurricane Beryl in Waterbury, Vermont, on Thursday. Mackie said his basement is filled nearly 5 feet high with a mud mixture that friends and neighbors are helping to empty. (AP/Charles Krupa)
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, DN.J., leaves federal court on Thursday after his bribery trial in New York. (AP/Larry Neumeister)
