An 11-year-old boy is suspected of using two guns to fatally shoot a former Louisiana mayor and his daughter, Minden Police Chief Jared McIver announced Tuesday.
The victims were identified as Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, a former mayor, city council member, and deputy sheriff, and his daughter Keisha Miles, 31. Their bodies were discovered Sunday morning after a 911 call alerted police to two dead individuals in a Minden residence.
McIver said the juvenile suspect was present at the scene when officers arrived. “The juvenile gave us a story at first that just didn’t add up,” McIver stated at a news conference. The child later confessed to the killings during questioning, with an adult relative present.
Police have not disclosed a motive for the killings. “Who knows why someone would do something this malicious? And at that age,” McIver said.
The suspect, whose name is withheld due to Louisiana law regarding juvenile suspects, is being held on a $500,000 bond for two counts of first-degree murder.
District Attorney Schuyler Marvin told KTBS-TV that if convicted on the current charges, the child could be held in a juvenile facility until age 21. Louisiana law prohibits trying juveniles under 14 as adults, even for first-degree murder.
Investigators recovered two hidden weapons matching the caliber of shell casings found near the bodies. McIver declined to specify the types of firearms but said further testing is underway to confirm both were used in the slayings.
Cornelius was a longtime public servant in Minden, serving on the city council and briefly as appointed mayor in 2013. He was also involved in youth programs and local Black history events.
Minden Mayor Nick Cox praised Cornelius’s service, stating, “Joe Cornelius’ years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community.”
Emma Navarro, the 23-year-old American and No. 19 seed, has advanced to her first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, defeating Paula Badosa 6-2, 7-5. The victory guarantees Navarro at least $1 million in prize money.
Navarro, born in New York but raised in Charleston, thanked her father, billionaire financier Ben Navarro, for recognizing her potential early on. “He knew maybe I was a little bit ADHD or something to be sitting in a classroom or in a nine to five. He saw something in me from a young age,” Navarro said post-match.
The match on Arthur Ashe Stadium saw Navarro comfortably take the first set before Badosa surged to a 5-1 lead in the second. However, Navarro staged a remarkable comeback, winning six consecutive games to clinch the match.
Navarro’s path to the semi-final included a notable victory over defending champion Coco Gauff, who struggled with 19 double faults and 60 unforced errors in their match.
A former top college player for the Virginia Cavaliers and 2021 NCAA champion, she has quickly adapted to the professional tour. Her first tour-level match outside of wildcards was in May 2023, making her rapid rise to a Grand Slam semi-final particularly impressive.
Navarro’s playing style, characterized by a mix of spins and slices, has proven challenging for opponents. “After I got it back to 5-2 (in the second set), I kind of had an inkling that it might be two sets,” Navarro said, describing her mindset during the comeback.
The match was a contest between two New York-born players, with Badosa having lived in the city until age seven before moving to Barcelona.
Emma’s victory, sealed with a trademark drop shot, sets her up for a semi-final appearance and continues her remarkable run at the US Open.
A pregnant woman and several children have been identified as among those who died when an overloaded migrant boat capsized in the English Channel near Boulogne-sur-Mer, French officials reported Tuesday.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that two more people are missing. The French coast guard rescued over 50 people off the Gris-Nez cape, with two in critical condition.
Frédéric Cuvillier, mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, confirmed to the BBC that a pregnant woman was among the deceased. Guirec Le Bras, the city’s prosecutor, said the victims were “primarily of Eritrean origin,” though exact nationalities were still being determined.
Darmanin noted that the boat was overloaded and fewer than eight people had life jackets. He reported that French authorities are preventing 60% of small boat departures, but smugglers are now cramming up to 70 people onto vessels previously used for 30 to 40, leading to deadlier shipwrecks.
This incident marks the deadliest loss of life in the Channel this year, bringing the 2024 death toll to 42. It surpasses the previous highest annual figure of 45 deaths recorded in 2021, according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the incident “horrifying and deeply tragic,” emphasizing the need to dismantle smuggling gangs and strengthen border security.
Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, a migrant aid charity, urged political leaders on both sides of the Channel to address these “avoidable tragedies.”
The number of people crossing the Channel in small boats has risen, with over 135,000 arrivals in the UK since 2018. More than 21,000 have crossed in 2024, surpassing the same period last year but fewer than in 2022, which saw a record 45,755 crossings.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently canceled the previous government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda and vowed to take tougher measures against people-smuggling gangs.
Critics, including Amnesty International UK, argue that the government should focus on providing safe routes for asylum seekers rather than relying solely on enforcement measures.
Ivan Toney has completed a £40 million transfer to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli from Brentford, securing a salary that places him among the highest-paid English footballers globally.
Toney, 28, is set to earn £400,000 per week tax-free, with performance-related bonuses potentially pushing his earnings to £500,000 weekly. This marks a significant increase from his sub-£50,000 weekly wage at Brentford.
The striker’s new salary rivals that of other top English talents:
– Harry Kane earns approximately £400,000 per week at Bayern Munich, totaling £20.8 million annually.
– Jude Bellingham receives around £220,000 weekly at Real Madrid, doubling his previous earnings at Borussia Dortmund.
– Bukayo Saka takes home £300,000 per week at Arsenal, making him the club’s highest earner.
While Toney’s wage is substantial, it falls short of some Saudi Pro League salaries, such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s reported £3.2 million weekly earnings.
Toney becomes the second England international to join the Saudi Pro League, following Jordan Henderson. His transfer concludes weeks of speculation about his future, during which Brentford manager Thomas Frank excluded him from matchday squads.
Al-Ahli’s new signing is expected to make his debut against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr after the international break. Toney will join former Premier League players Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy at his new club.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv for a third consecutive night Tuesday, demanding the Israeli government reach a ceasefire deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.
The demonstrations intensified after the Israeli military reported that six hostages were killed by their captors in Gaza as troops approached their location. Many protesters blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the increasing number of hostage deaths and are calling for immediate action to secure their release.
In diplomatic efforts, the United States is collaborating with Egyptian and Qatari counterparts on a new ceasefire and hostage deal proposal. The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to convene Wednesday to discuss the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli military announced Tuesday it had killed Ahmed Fozi Wadia, a Hamas commander from a commando battalion. Wadia was identified in a widely circulated video from the October 7 attack, showing him drinking cola near two children wounded in a grenade attack that killed their father. The military stated that an airstrike on Saturday targeted a Hamas compound in Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of eight militants, including Wadia.
The Israel-Hamas conflict, now in its 11th month, began with a Hamas-led attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. The subsequent war in Gaza has resulted in over 40,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials.
A Russian missile strike on a military institute in the central Ukrainian town of Poltava killed at least 51 people and wounded 271 on Tuesday, making it the deadliest single attack in the war this year.
Two ballistic missiles hit the Military Institute of Communications, partially destroying one of its buildings, the Ukrainian defense ministry reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed that soldiers were among the casualties but did not specify the number of military personnel killed.
“The Russian scum will definitely be held accountable for this strike,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram, ordering a full investigation.
Poltava regional governor Filip Pronin stated that 15 people may still be trapped under the rubble. Emergency services initially reported 50 deaths, with officials later updating the toll to 51.
Ukraine’s land forces announced they are investigating whether sufficient measures were taken to protect soldiers at the facility. The foreign ministry noted that the use of ballistic missiles, which can hit targets hundreds of kilometers away within minutes, left victims little time to seek shelter after air raid sirens sounded.
Dmytro Lazutkin, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told national TV that classes were in session when the attack occurred at 09:08 local time (0608 GMT). People rushed to shelters, but explosions followed minutes after the air alert.
The strike has prompted renewed calls from Zelenskiy for increased Western air defenses and permission to use long-range weapons for strikes deeper into Russian territory. “We keep telling everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: air defence systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere,” he said.
This attack comes amid an intensification of missile and drone strikes by Russia over the past two-and-a-half years of the full-scale war. Last week, Ukraine faced its heaviest bombardment to date, while on Monday, ballistic and cruise missiles targeted Kyiv.
Ukraine has also increased its attacks on Russian territory, launching over 158 drones at the weekend, damaging an oil refinery near Moscow and a power station. Fighting has escalated over the past month, with Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine and Kyiv’s troops mounting their first large-scale cross-border assault into Russia’s Kursk region.
Local authorities in Poltava announced three days of mourning, with about 150 residents donating blood for the wounded.
This is not the first time Russia has struck military facilities far from the frontlines with mass casualties. In May 2022, Russia claimed to have hit a training ground for reserve forces in Desna, where Ukraine reported 87 deaths. In March of the same year, 35 people died in a Russian strike on a military base in western Ukraine.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed at least six people on Monday, citing the Taliban’s reactivation of detention facilities at the Bagram base as motivation.
The attack targeted people working with judicial services, according to the Islamic State’s Telegram channel. The group claimed 45 people, including Taliban members, were killed. These figures could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Kabul police reported that all six confirmed casualties were civilians. The intended target of the bombing was not specified.
Islamic State said the attack was retaliation for the treatment of Muslim prisoners in Taliban prisons, particularly their transfer to the Bagram facility. “The attack came in retaliation for Muslim prisoners in Taliban prisons, especially after their transfer to the notorious ‘Bagram’ prison, in a repeat of the American era and its practices against prisoners,” the group stated.
Bagram, a Soviet-built airstrip, served as the main U.S. base in Afghanistan from 2001 until the American withdrawal in 2021. The CIA used it as a “black site” detention center for terrorism suspects in the early years of the Afghan war, with practices later acknowledged as torture by President Barack Obama.
Mohammad Yusuf Mestari, acting head of prison administration under the Taliban government, announced Sunday that the Bagram prison was being “reactivated” after years of disuse. He confirmed some prisoners had been transferred there but did not specify their identities.
The Islamic State’s local affiliate, Islamic State-Khurasan, has been waging an insurgency against the Taliban, whom they consider enemies. Taliban authorities claim to have largely suppressed the group, despite ongoing attacks in Afghanistan.
The Taliban-run interior ministry has not immediately responded to requests for comment on the bombing.
This attack follows a series of Islamic State-claimed incidents globally, including a stabbing in Germany, a concert hall assault in Moscow, and a memorial bombing in Iran.
Daniel Mtimkulu, former head of engineering at South Africa’s Passenger Rail Agency (PRASA), was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for fraud and forgery, including faking his engineering qualifications.
Mtimkulu, 49, was convicted in 2022 on three counts of fraud and forgery. He resigned from PRASA shortly before his arrest in 2015.
The Johannesburg special commercial crimes court handed down a 15-year sentence for the first count of fraud and six years for each of the other two counts, to be served concurrently. Mtimkulu must also repay 323,000 South African Rand (approximately $17,000 USD) to PRASA.
As PRASA’s engineering chief, Mtimkulu oversaw a $100 million deal to purchase train locomotives from Spain that were later found to be too tall for South Africa’s rail network. This contract was among several at PRASA linked to alleged bribes and kickbacks.
Mtimkulu falsely claimed to hold a master’s degree from a South African university and a doctorate in engineering management from a German university. He also fabricated a job offer from a German company, resulting in his annual salary increase from $90,000 to $155,000.
A recent report by a special investigative unit estimates that over $7 billion may have been lost to corruption at some of South Africa’s state-owned companies, including PRASA, between 2009 and 2018.
The case highlights ongoing challenges in South Africa’s efforts to combat fraud and mismanagement in its public sector. It also raises questions about oversight and vetting processes in state-owned enterprises.
A viral video from March 13, 2022, has resurfaced, igniting a heated discussion about passenger rights and airline policies. The footage, originally posted by TikTok user @decemberdawn1, shows a confrontation between a mother and airline staff on what is reported to be a Frontier Airlines flight. The incident has raised concerns about the circumstances under which passengers can be removed from flights and the discretionary power wielded by airline staff.
In the video, an airline employee, who appears to be either security personnel, a manager, or a gate agent rather than a flight attendant, is seen repeatedly asking a mother to leave the plane to “talk,” without providing a clear explanation. The staff member insists that the mother leave her two sleeping children on the plane, a request that visibly distresses the parent. As the situation escalates, the employee threatens to “call someone” if the mother doesn’t comply.
The context surrounding the incident remains unclear, with some viewers speculating that the mother may have caused a disturbance prior to the recording. Others suggest that the airline might have made a booking error, necessitating the family’s removal to accommodate another passenger. However, these theories remain unsubstantiated.
What is clear from the video is that other passengers on the flight express frustration over a three-hour delay, suggesting that tensions were already high before the confrontation began. The TikTok user who shared the video stated that the incident prompted her to boycott Frontier Airlines in the future.
This event has brought attention to the broader issue of passenger rights and the circumstances under which airlines can remove travelers from flights. According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), passengers cannot be bumped from planes after boarding without a valid reason. Typically, involuntary removal is only permitted for security, safety, or health concerns.
The practice of overbooking flights, where airlines sell more tickets than available seats to compensate for potential no-shows, is a common industry practice. However, there are protocols in place for such situations. Airlines are required to first seek volunteers willing to give up their seats before resorting to involuntary bumping.
While the video doesn’t appear to show racial discrimination, it has sparked discussions about the potential for such incidents to disproportionately affect people of color. The DOT has established that race or ethnicity cannot be used as criteria for selecting passengers for involuntary bumping. However, concerns persist about the discretionary power of flight crews and the potential for bias in its application.
Mother with two children, son and daughter traveling by plane, kids are looking through window
For travelers concerned about avoiding similar situations, experts suggest several strategies like meeting check-in deadlines, arriving at the gate on time, purchasing higher-class seats, and maintaining frequent flier status.
These steps may reduce the likelihood of being selected for involuntary bumping, although they cannot guarantee protection against such incidents.
Passengers who believe they have been discriminated against or unfairly removed from a flight have the right to file complaints with the DOT, press charges, or pursue legal action against the airline. Additionally, those who voluntarily give up their seats in overbooking situations can often negotiate compensation with the carrier.
As this video continues to circulate and spark debate, it serves as a reminder of the complex dynamics at play in air travel and the ongoing need for clear communication between airlines and their passengers. It also highlights the power of social media in bringing attention to such incidents and potentially influencing airline policies and practices.
In a startling escalation of political tensions in Uganda, prominent opposition figure Bobi Wine was shot and wounded during a confrontation with police on Tuesday. The incident occurred just outside the capital city of Kampala, marking a significant moment in the ongoing struggle between the government and opposition forces in the East African nation.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, leads the National Unity Platform, currently the largest opposition party in Uganda’s national assembly. The party took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to report the incident, stating that Ugandan security operatives had “made an attempt on the life of” Wine. According to the party’s statement, he was “shot in the leg and seriously injured in Bulindo, Wakiso District,” a town on the outskirts of Kampala.
Eyewitness accounts and photos shared online depicted a chaotic scene, with Wine surrounded by supporters who urgently called attention to his injury before helping him into a waiting vehicle. This marks the first time Wine has been wounded in such a manner, although confrontations between him and the police have frequently turned violent in the past.
As of the time of reporting, there has been no official comment from the police or other government authorities regarding the incident.
The shooting of Bobi Wine adds another chapter to his tumultuous political career. Rising to prominence first as a popular entertainer, Wine transitioned into politics by winning a seat in the national assembly in 2017. His popularity, especially among urban youth, propelled him to run for president in 2021. Although he lost to incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, Wine contested the results, claiming the election was rigged against him.
This latest incident underscores the ongoing political tensions in Uganda, where President Museveni has held power since 1986. At 79 years old, Museveni has resisted calls to announce his retirement and had the constitution amended to remove the age limit for presidents. His long tenure and the lack of a clear succession plan have been points of contention in Ugandan politics.
Museveni, who has been a key U.S. ally on regional security matters for many years, leads a country that has not experienced a peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from Britain in 1962. This historical context adds weight to the significance of opposition figures like Bobi Wine and the challenges they face.
