List of All Articles with Tag 'rl'

Dorthy's ruby red slippers can't just take you home, they can also land you in federal court. That much was made apparent after a federal grand jury indicted Terry Martin, 76, with one count of theft of a major artwork for allegedly stealing one of four remaining pairs of Dorthy's ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz. The indictment claims that Mr Martin stole the slippers — worn by Judy Garland in her iconic 1939 role — in 2005 during an after-hours "visit" to the Judy Garland Museum in the actress's hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Federal prosecutors alleged on Tuesday that Mr Martin climbed into the museum through a window, broke a display case containing the slippers, and took off with the legendary film artefact, according to ABC News. The museum's alarm had been tripped, but it failed to alert local police, according to a report by The Guardian. “The biggest thing that ever happened to our museum was getting the slippers stolen. We were literally crying,” the museum’s co-founder, Jon Miner, told KQDS just after the robbery. The slippers were on loan to the museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw when they were stolen. The other three pairs worn in the movie are in the possession of a private collector, the Smithsonian, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time of their theft, the slippers were insured for $1m but had a market value of approximately $3.5m. After they disappeared, law enforcement, enthusiasts and film history buffs offered up rewards for the slippers' safe return, with one anonymous donor in Arizona offering up to $1m. The museum even hired a private investigator in 2013 to try to track down the slippers, but the investigation never made headway. In 2017, a man came forward and told the company that insured the slippers he could assist in their recovery. That man was later found to have been allegedly attempting to extort the individual who stole the shoes, according to the FBI. The agency launched a nearly year-long investigation, after which they launched a sting operation to recover the slippers. The FBI managed to recover the slippers in Minneapolis during the operation, and later examination by experts confirmed the shoes were authentic. However, no arrests were made following the sting, as the FBI was continuing its investigation into who actually stole the memorabilia. Since the 2018 recovery operation, the agency has been working to rule out suspects. Little is known about Mr Martin beyond his age. The indictment did not include a motive or any details about how investigators determined Mr Martin was behind the alleged theft. No attorney's information is available for Mr Martin. Read More Stolen ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz found by FBI after 13 years $1 million reward offered for the return of Judy Garland's ruby red slippers, a decade after they were stolen from a museum The Wizard of Oz most influential film of all time, study finds

Take Two Interactive Software Inc., known for the Grand Theft Auto video-game franchise, soared in extended trading after

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: The Associated Press is offering a video of Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaking about his campaign and plans for the future. Attorney General Daniel Cameron won the Republican primary for Kentucky governor and will face Beshear in November. Use the video on your websites, broadcasts, social media platforms and elsewhere. ___ GET THE VIDEO Gov. Beshear focuses on Kentucky families in campaign ___ READ AP’S COVERAGE Trump-backed Daniel Cameron to face Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in November ___ PUBLISH THIS Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear sat down with the Associated Press on Wednesday to discuss his bid for second-term as Kentucky’s governor. He touted economic development, his work at the border and his response to natural disasters throughout the state. “We are at a moment of time and opportunity in Kentucky, the likes of which we’ve never seen. Getting picked for the largest investments of Ford and Amazon. More jobs than ever before. R&D facilities. I got to announce a steel facility in Bell County and a distillery in Fulton County on the same day. More rural jobs than we’ve ever seen. Now, this election for me is about seeing through this work and turning years of great economic development into decades of prosperity,” Beshear said. On Tuesday, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron became the first Black nominee for either party in the state of Kentucky—the republican will be facing off against Beshear in the election. “It’s taken far too long to have a Black nominee of either party for governor. But I think what the attorney general said last night is right, that in this campaign, people are going to judge us by our record and our values. And I know that my campaign will show those values by lifting us up, by moving us forward, by focusing on on better jobs, by living out our collective faith of being there for our neighbor and not stoking division, calling each other names and trying to turn people against each other,” Beshear said. Beshear also defended his decisions while handling the COVID-19 pandemic, something his republican opponents have been keen to use against him. He also defended abortion rights in the state and pushed back on current strict state laws. “In Kentucky, they passed a total ban that leaves victims even of rape and incest without any options. It forces women who are pregnant to carry to term, even when it’s not going to be viable. And they’re going to have to go through the most heart wrenching moments and know they’re going to face that for many, many months. Listen, that’s wrong. And I believe the vast majority of Kentuckians believe that it’s wrong,” Beshear said. Beshear also said he is supporting President Biden for his bid for a second term. ___ Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide AP News Digest 3:30 am AP News Digest 3:20 am Kentucky Republicans pick nominee to challenge Democratic Gov. Beshear

Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden is pushing back on assertions from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow that the panel lacks authority to request personal tax information and travel records from him as part of a probe into whether hospitality he provided to Justice Clarence Thomas could have triggered violations of US tax law.

Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister said the operators of a project generating carbon credits from an area almost the size

University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury. Mr Kohberger is accused of murdering students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chaping at the victims’ off-campus residence on 13 November. He was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on 30 December after investigators gathered several pieces of evidence allegedly linking him to the crime. A preliminary hearing, where prosecutors had to show a judge that there is enough evidence to justify moving forward with charges of burglary and four counts of murder, was previously scheduled for 26 June. However, on Tuesday, a grand jury indicted MrKohberger on the same charges, effectively rerouting the case directly to the state’s felony court level and allowing prosecutors to skip the preliminary hearing process, the Associated Press reported. The former Washington State University PhD student is now expected to appear for his arraignment at the Latah County District Court at 9am on Monday to enter a plea. According to the indictment, Mr Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the first degree and one count of burglary. Each murder count states that he “did wilfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and with malice aforethought, kill and murder” each of the victims by stabbing. The list of witnesses who testified before the grand jury is sealed. Mr Kohberger’s indictment means that the jurors empanelled on the grand jury believed there was enough evidence against him for the case to proceed to trial. Mr Kohberger said through a public defender earlier this year that he “was eager to be exonerated.” He was linked to the crimes by DNA evidence, cellphone data and surveillance video of what prosecutors believe is his white Hyundai Elantra leaving the scene, according to the arrest affidavit. Another roommate, who survived the attack, was also able to partially describe the killer to investigators after she came face-to-face with him. The murder weapon, a fixed-blade knife, was not recovered during searches and remains missing. Two warrants obtained by The Independent show that investigators collected a Glock .40 calibre gun, empty gun magazines, a knife, a pocket knife, black face masks, black gloves, electronic devices, and clothing items from the home of Mr Kohberger’s parents in Pennsylvania where he was arrested. The family home was raided on 30 December, the same day that a search was also carried out at Mr Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington a 15-minute drive from the crime scene in Moscow. The Washington warrant revealed that investigators seized a “collection of dark red” spotting and a pillow with a “reddish/brown stain” at Mr Kohberger’s apartment. At least two items seized from that search tested positive for blood. Read More Lori Vallow — update: Juror reveals why he flipped to guilty verdict and ‘disgust’ at Chad Daybell wedding Warped dad who murdered wife and autistic daughter likely to ‘die in prison’ Police apologise to man wrongly charged with girl’s murder in 1992

The State Department offered Wednesday to allow the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to view a classified cable from U.S. diplomats in Kabul sent shortly before the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas had threatened earlier this week to make an unprecedented push to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if he did not turn over the so-called dissent cable. It was not immediately clear whether the State Department's offer would appease the Republican lawmaker, who also wanted to see Blinken's response to the cable. State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Wednesday that McCaul, as well as Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the committee, would be invited to the department to view the cable “with appropriate personal information redacted.” “Chairman McCaul himself has said that this is what he is interested in,” Patel said. "And so it is our sincere hope that our offer here will be sufficient to satisfy their request for information.” McCaul was planning to have the committee vote next week on a resolution to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress. It would have then proceeded to a full vote in the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority. The State Department had previously briefed McCaul on the substance of the cables, but he said he was not satisfied. The vast majority of the 123 cables sent since 1971, when the dissent channel was created during the Vietnam War, have remained classified, according to the National Security Archives at George Washington University. The State Department has long protected the cables from being released publicly. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Senator Joe Manchin pulled his support for an Energy Department nominee in protest of the agency’s plan to

Air Canada is closing in on a deal for as many as 20 Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners to

The Bloomberg Sustainable Finance Forum is under way, focusing on topics ranging from opportunities in the US market

The International Monetary Fund approved Ghana’s request for a $3 billion bailout to support the debt-ridden West African

The Charlotte Hornets have two picks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. Here are three prospect combinations they should target.The 2023 NBA Draft lottery ended with mingled heartbreak and euphoria for fans of the Charlotte Hornets. On one hand, Victor Wembanyama was oh so close -- just o...