Border Patrol agent shot at naked, rock-throwing migrant, feds say
SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Border Patrol agent opened fire on a naked man who was allegedly throwing rocks at him Wednesday morning on Otay Mountain, authorities said.
The 29-year-old man was not struck by the agent's gunfire, according to San Diego sheriff's Lt. Thomas Seiver.
It happened around 7 a.m. Wednesday in a remote area of Otay Mountain, where the agent found the allegedly nude man and confronted him, Seiver said in a news release. The man allegedly hit the agent with multiple rocks he threw at him, including at least once in the head.
During the encounter, the agent fired his gun at the man, but did not strike him, according to Seiver. Agents then took the man into custody, and both he and the agent were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.
— The San Diego Union-Tribune
Cuomo attorney assails AG James, asks to see Assembly impeachment report before it goes public
ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attorney wants the chance to review the state Assembly’s soon-to-be-released impeachment report before it’s made public.
Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin said Thursday she wants to see all the evidence collected by the law firm contracted to probe a host of allegations against the disgraced Democrat.
“The fact that we have not been given access to the evidence puts us in a position where we can not respond adequately,” she said during a virtual news conference.
The pitch comes as the Assembly readies to release the results of its aborted impeachment probe, which is expected to back many of the damning sexual harassment allegations outlined in an August report from investigators working under Attorney General Letitia James.
Lawmakers, who cut their work short when Cuomo resigned three months ago, were also probing the misconduct claims as well as several other scandals that engulfed his administration including allegations that family and associates of the ex-governor received preferential treatment for COVID-19 testing, issues related to the former governor’s $5.1 million pandemic-themed book and problems with the construction of the Mario Cuomo Bridge.
— New York Daily News
Dallas appeals court upholds Amber Guyger’s conviction for the murder of Botham Jean
DALLAS — A Dallas appeals court this week upheld the murder conviction of Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who fatally shot Botham Jean inside his apartment in September 2018.
Guyger appealed to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas to overturn her murder conviction, arguing her mistaken belief that she was in her own apartment does not make her culpable for murder. She asked the judges to lessen her charge to criminally negligent homicide, which carries up to two years in prison. This was the second time the court ruled to uphold Guyger’s conviction.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, the judges affirmed a 2019 trial court’s conviction and sentencing of Guyger, who is serving a 10-year sentence in a Texas prison.
Guyger, who was a Dallas police officer still in uniform when she shot Jean, testified at her trial that she believed she had entered her apartment on Sept. 6, 2018, about 10 p.m. She actually had entered Jean’s apartment, which was on another floor directly above hers.
Jean was a 26-year-old accountant who was eating vanilla ice cream and getting ready to watch football when Guyger opened the door to his apartment and fired her police-department issued gun. Jean was a native of St. Lucia and had dreams of returning there one day to run for prime minister.
Guyger testified that she shot to kill Jean because she believed he was an intruder in her apartment who was going to kill her. She argued in her appeal and at her trial that the fatal shooting of Jean was self-defense.
— The Dallas Morning News
Aid arrives, some migrants head home, but Belarus tensions still high
BRUZGI, Belarus — The prospects for the crowds of migrants massed at the Belarusian-Polish border grew no clearer on Thursday, with some giving up hope of crossing, yet more showing up, and world leaders still seeking to negotiate an end to the crisis.
Hundreds had retreated from the border after days of hoping to gain access to EU territory, most of them to an emergency center in the nearby town of Bruzgi.
But hundreds more seemed to be taking their place. And there were seemingly thousands more who have still not give up their spot despite wintry conditions.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to be deported and die in Iraq," said Hoshmand Abdalla, a Kurdish student staying in the emergency center along with about 2,000 others.
"We want a better life in the EU, in Germany," says Faraidun Qadir, a friend of Abdalla's.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stands accused of encouraging thousands of people from war-torn countries to come to Belarus with a promise of a life in Europe. The European Union alleges that he sent them towards the bloc's eastern flank in retaliation for sanctions against his regime.
— Deutsche Presse-Agentur
