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Danny Masterson received letters of support from Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher ahead of his sentencing, it has been revealed. Masterson, 47, was given a sentence of 30 years to life in a Los Angeles court on Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago. It has since emerged that his That 70’s Show costars Kunis and Kutcher were among 50 people who wrote letters of support before the sentencing. In their letters, published by Los Angeles-based court reporter Meghann Cuniff, the couple vouched for Masterson’s “exceptional character” and pleaded for Judge Charlaine Olmedo’s leniency. A jury found Masterson guilty of two counts in May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend. Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology — where all three women were also members at the time — to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks. Read More ‘You’ll be caught:’ Resurfaced Danny Masterson chat show clip takes on chilling light after rape sentencing Leah Remini hits out at Church of Scientology following Danny Masterson rape sentencing That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes

The New York Mets have to feel good about the Justin Verlander trade, even as the Houston Astros hurdle toward another postseason berth.

Rescue teams are set to begin an attempt to evacuate a American explorer trapped 3,400 feet (1,040m) deep underground in a cave in southern Turkey. Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver, suddenly became ill with bleeding in his degistive tract earlier this month during an international exploration mission in the Morca cave in the Taurus mountains. More than 150 rescuers from across Europe have been working to save him since. The attempt to bring Mr Dickey out of the cave is expected to begin on Saturday and could take three or four days, rescuers said. The way out is being divided into seven sections, each given to a team from a different country, due to the complexity of the operation. This is regarded as one of the most difficult cave rescues ever. Follow the latest in our live blog here "This is a difficult operation. It would take a [healthy] person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days," Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey's disaster relief agency, AFAD, told the IHA news agency. "Our priority is health. Our aim is to conclude this operation without anyone coming under any danger." Tulga Sener, the head of the rescue commission medical unit, told Reuters that Mr Dickey's health condition was stable and his vital signs normal, adding that three doctors would attend to him on his way up. It is believed that Mr Dickey will have to take significant rest at frequent points on the way out. Explosives will need to be used to expand some of the more narrow points of the cave to allow safe passge said Recep Salci, the head of search and rescue for AFAD, with the aim of bringing Mr Dickey up a stretcher. Rescuers will use a "security belt" system to lift him through the cave's narrowest openings. Doctors gave Mr Dickey IV fluids and 4 litres of blood inside the cave, he said. More than 30 rescuers were inside the cave on Friday afternoon, and teams comprised of a doctor and three or four others take turns staying with the American at all times, Mr Salci said. "Our aim is to bring him out and to have him hospitalised as soon as possible," Mr Salci said. Members of Italy's National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team joined rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey late Thursday. A Turkish helicopter was on standby near the entrance of the cave, Turkish media reports said. The Italian organisation said six of their rescuers, including a doctor and nurse, reached Dickey during the night. The team planned to work to keep him stable for 15 to 20 hours before being replaced by another team. Small camps set up at different levels inside the cave gave doctors, nurses and technicians a place to rest, the group said. Mr Dickey recorded a video message that was released by Turkish authorities late on Thursday. "Hi, I'm Mark Dickey from nearly a thousands metres," Mr Dickey said in the message, dressed in a red puffer jacket and using a headlamp. "As you can see, I'm up, I'm alert, I'm talking. But I'm not healed on the inside yet, so I'm going to need a lot of help to get out of here," he added. The caving world is a really tight-knit group ,and it's amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface," Mr Dickey said in the video. "I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge." The New Jersey-based cave rescue group that Mr Dickey is affiliated with said he had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach but had stopped vomiting and ate for the first time in days. Mr Dickey added that the response to his medical issues is "a great opportunity to show how well the international world can work together". Footage from the operation showed rescuers setting up shelters in the cavity where he was found and chatting with Dickey. Other teams from Turkey and elsewhere set up camp outside the country's third-deepest cave. Mr Dickey has been described by the European Association of Cave Rescuers as "a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself" who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association's medical committee. The researcher was on an expedition mapping the 4,186-foot (1,276-metre) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey. He initially became ill on 2 September, but it took until the morning of to notify others who were above ground. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More Two men questioned in Lebanon at Turkey's request over 2019 escape of former Nissan tycoon Sunak pledges to ‘put pressure’ on Moscow as he arrives in India for summit Helicopters airlift residents to safety from deadly floods in central Greece What is a speleologist? AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa Is it India? Is it Bharat? Speculations abound as government pushes for the country’s Sanskrit name

The US Federal Aviation Administration is taking the first step toward mandating cockpit-alerting technologies to reduce the risk

One person was shot and critically wounded at a concert headlined by rapper Lil Baby in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday night, police and local media said. The Memphis Police Department posted on social media that officers responded to a report of a shooting at 10:23 p.m. at 191 Beale Street, which is the address of FedEx Forum. A male victim was transported to Regional One Health Medical Center in critical condition and no other injuries were reported, police said. The identity of the shooter was not known, the police statement said. Lil Baby was rushed off the stage when shots were fired inside the venue, WREG-TV reported. A representative for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request for more information from The Associated Press.

A white teenager was indicted on an attempted murder charge after he was alleged to have repeatedly held a Black boy — who thought they were friends — underwater while hurling racial abuse at him. The attack by the 14-year-old happened at Goose Pond in Chatham, Massachusetts, on 19 July, court records claim. The victim said in a written statement that he was continually pushed underwater until he started to feel lightheaded, police said. He also vomited and eventually screamed for help. A third teen at the Cape Cod pond, also white, laughed and called the victim “George Floyd,” police said, while the other continued to wrestle him underwater. George Floyd was a Black man who was brutally murdered by Derek Chauvin, a policeman, in Minneapolis in 2020. The cop kneeled on Floyd’s neck, eventually killing him. Authorities say the victim rode a bike to the pond for an outing he thought was with friends. But what should have been a safe trip to the pond with peers allegedly turned into an racist ordeal. According to police, the two teens started to throw stones at the victim after he refused the pair’s demand to ride his bike into the pond. And then, after the victim put on a life jacket — as he could not swim — and got into the pond, the pair persisted in throwing “stones at him and threatened to beat him up.” The indicted teen then picked up a larger stone, police said, threatening the victim with it while also calling him “boy” and the n-word. The racial and physical torment continued as the teen got into the pond with the victim, according to authorities. Despite the victim’s pleas, the teen pulled him by his life jacket and forced him under four or five times, according to the police narrative. The teen then also swam under the water and “attempted to grab his feet to again pull the victim underwater.” “Water went into my mouth and my nose and I could not breathe,” the victim wrote in a statement. “So I shouted out that I can’t breathe over and over and tried to get his hand off me.” While this was happening, he said the third teenager just stood and “started laughing and called me George Floyd, obviously making fun of me and showing NO remorse.” Fortunately, several people at the pond witnessed the incident and helped stop the racially charged attack. A person who helped the victim out of the water told police that he saw both teens “taking turns” submerging the victim under the water, according to court documents. One witness said they heard the “George Floyd” comment by the third juvenile and another witness also heard the victim screaming for them to stop. The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office announced on 31 August that the incident was racially motivated and that the 14-year-old was to be indicted on charges of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. Also on 31 August, the teen was found to be dangerous after a hearing at the Barnstable Juvenile Court, meaning he can be held in custody without bail. It is not yet clear whether the other boy will also face charges. An attempted-murder sentence in Massachusetts can be up to 20 years. Assaulting with a dangerous weapon can bring up to five years. The Chatham Select Board issued a statement on 1 September about the attack, with officials offering support to the victim’s family and saying they will work with police and Monomoy school officials “proactively to deter events such as this from taking place in the future.” “We are disturbed and saddened to learn of the event that occurred earlier this summer between juveniles,” they said in the statement. “We do not believe that it reflects the true nature of our community, which is diverse and inclusive.” The teen is due to appear back in court on Wednesday for a pretrial conference. Read More Biden demands US do better on racism amid Jacksonville shooting: ‘Hate must have no safe harbor’ Video refutes white woman’s claim that she ‘feared for her life’ when she shot Black mother, sheriff says North Carolina Republican apologises for ‘thinly-veiled racial’ attack Tim Scott is the top Black Republican in the GOP presidential primary. Here's how he discusses race Denver to pay $4.7 million to settle claims it targeted George Floyd protesters for violating curfew Furious inquiry chair hits out at Post Office accused of trying to hide ‘n-word’

When police arrived at his house to investigate a hit-and-run, Joseph Ruddy, one of the nation’s most prolific federal narcotics prosecutors, looked so drunk he could barely stand up straight, leaning on the tailgate of his pickup to keep his balance. But he apparently was under control enough to be waiting with his U.S. Justice Department business card in hand. “What are you trying to hand me?” an officer asked. “You realize when they pull my body-worn camera footage and they see this, this is going to go really bad." That footage obtained by The Associated Press showed Ruddy apparently attempting to leverage his position to blunt the fallout from a Fourth of July crash in which he is accused of drunkenly striking another vehicle and leaving the scene. But despite being charged, the 59-year-old Ruddy remained on the job for two months, representing the United States in court as recently as last week to notch another win for the sprawling task force he helped create two decades ago targeting cocaine smuggling at sea. On Wednesday, a day after the AP asked the Justice Department about Ruddy's status, the veteran prosecutor was pulled off three pending criminal cases. A Justice Department spokesman would not say whether he had been suspended but said that Ruddy, while still employed, had been removed from his supervisory role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa. The case also has been referred to the Office of Inspector General. Such an inspector general's probe would likely focus on whether Ruddy was trying to use his public office for private gain, said Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics professor at Washington University in St. Louis who reviewed the footage. “It’s hard to see what this could be other than an attempt to improperly influence the police officer to go easy on him,” Clark said. “What could possibly be his purpose in handing over his U.S. Attorney’s Office business card?” Ruddy, whose blood-alcohol level tested at 0.17%, twice the legal limit, was charged with driving under the influence with property damage — a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. Despite his own admissions and witness testimony, he was not charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Neither Ruddy nor his attorney returned messages seeking comment. Ruddy is known in law enforcement circles as one of the architects of Operation Panama Express, or PANEX — a task force launched in 2000 to target cocaine smuggling at sea, combining resources from the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Historically, PANEX-generated intelligence contributes to more than 90% of U.S. Coast Guard drug interdictions at sea. Between 2018 and 2022, the Coast Guard removed or destroyed 888 metric tons of cocaine worth an estimated $26 billion and detained 2,776 suspected smugglers, a senior Coast Guard official said in congressional testimony in March. The bulk of those cases were handled by Ruddy and his colleagues in Tampa, where PANEX is headquartered. A former Ironman triathlete, Ruddy enjoys a reputation among attorneys for hard work and toughness in the courtroom. Among his biggest cases were some of the early extraditions from Colombia of top smugglers for the feared Cali cartel. But the majority of cases handled out of his office involve mostly poor fishermen from Central and South America who make up the drug trade’s lowest rungs. Often, the drugs aren’t even bound for American shores and the constitutional guarantees of due process that normally apply in criminal cases inside the U.S. are only loosely observed. “Ruddy is at the heart of a costly and aggressive prosecutor-led dragnet that every year pulls hundreds of low-level cocaine traffickers off the oceans and incarcerates them in the U.S.,” said Kendra McSweeney, an Ohio State University geographer who is part of a team studying maritime interdiction policies. Research by Ohio State's Interdiction Lab found that between 2014 and 2020, the median sentence for smugglers picked up at sea and prosecuted in Tampa was 10 years — longer than any other court in the country and compared to seven years, six months in Miami, which handles the second-largest amount of such cases. Last Friday, nearly two months after his arrest, Ruddy was in court to ratify a plea deal in the case of a Brazilian man, Flavio Fontes Pereira, who in February was found by the U.S. Coast Guard with more than 3.3 tons of cocaine aboard a sailboat off Guinea, in West Africa. After two weeks aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel, Pereira made his initial court appearance in Tampa in March, charged under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, which gives the U.S. unique arrest powers anywhere on the high seas whenever it determines a vessel is “without nationality.” Ruddy is next due to appear in court in his own case Sept. 27. He's accused of sideswiping an SUV whose driver had been waiting to turn at a red light, clipping a side mirror and tearing off another piece of the vehicle that lodged in the fender of Ruddy’s pickup. “He never even hit brakes,” a witness told police. "He just kept going and he was swerving all the way up the road. I’m like, ‘No, he’s going to hurt somebody.’ So I just followed him until I got the tag number and just called and reported it.” When officers arrived at Ruddy’s home in the suburb of Temple Terrace, they found him hunched over his pickup, holding his keys and using the vehicle for support, the report said. Officers noted that he had urinated on himself, was unable to walk without help and failed a field sobriety test. “I understand we might be having a better night,” Tampa police patrolman Taylor Grant said before looking at the business card. “Why didn’t you stop?” the officer asked. “I didn’t realize it was that serious,” Ruddy said in a slurred response. “You hit a vehicle and you ran,” the officer said. “You ran because you’re drunk. You probably didn’t realize you hit the vehicle.” ___ Goodman reported from Miami. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

NY Governor Kathy Hochul is seeking refunds for Charter Communications Inc. cable subscribers who have lost access to

The latest include Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers' status, an update on Trey Murphy's knee, and Jayson Tatum weighing in on Cooper Flagg.

Danny Masterson, star of That ’70s Show, has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women two decades ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that she rejected, and having heard impact statements from the victims. A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend. The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December 2022 and a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology — where all three women were also members at the time — to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks. Read More ‘You’ll be caught:’ Resurfaced Danny Masterson chat show clip takes on chilling light after rape sentencing Leah Remini hits out at Church of Scientology following Danny Masterson rape sentencing That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes

A Kentucky man has been charged in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers, a mother-of-five who vanished without a trace during the Fourth of July weekend in 2015. Joseph Lawson, 32, was arraigned in Nelson Circuit Court on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and complicity in tampering with physical evidence. His bond was set at $500,000 cash. The conspiracy to commit murder charge was filed 24 July and the charge of tampering with evidence was filed in June, according to Nelson County circuit court documents. Ms Rogers was not mentioned by name in the indictment, but Attorney Kevin Coleman, who represents Mr Lawson, acknowledged his client’s case is in relation to the mother’s death, according to WRDB. He declined to comment further. Mr Lawson has not been charged with Ms Rogers’ murder, but instead faces a conspiracy charge which means prosecutors believe he was involved in some way. The indictment states that on July 3, 2015, and/or July 4 2015, “the above-named Defendant, committed the offense of Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Murder, when, with the intention of promoting or facilitating the crime, when he agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission of the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime, when he, and/or a co-conspirator, intentionally caused the death of another.” Ms Rogers has not been seen or heard from since the evening of 3 July 2015. Her red Chevrolet Impala was found abandoned the same day at mile marker 14 on Bluegrass Parkway. The car had a flat tire and inside were her keys, phone and purse, according to the FBI’s office in Louisville. Her boyfriend at the time, Brooks Houck, who is also the father to her youngest child, was named a suspect just months after she went missing, but has never been charged. He’s considered to be the last person who saw her alive. Several homes in Bardstown, Kentucky have been searched over the years, including the homes of Houck family farm, the homes of Mr Houck and his brother, Nick, and a storage unit belonging to Ms Rogers. Her case was taken over by the FBI in 2020. The FBI is also investigating the death of her father, Tommy Ballard, who was shot and killed in 2016 while hunting on his own property more than a year after his daughter went missing. Read More Mother charged after New Jersey investigators solve 1984 ‘Baby Mary’ cold case DNA evidence links man to three sexual assaults over more than a decade Police name man who died in custody after being held for murder of missing woman

A rapper in Las Vegas has been charged with murder after police claim he "confessed to the murder in his lyrics." Kenjuan McDaniel — aka The Biggest Finn4800 — was arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on 29 August. He faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon. A court set Mr McDaniel's bail at $1m, and he has been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device. The rapper was previously considered a "person of interest" in the death of Randall Wallace on 18 September, 2021. Police said Mr McDaniel was tied to a vehicle matching the description of the one used in Mr Wallace's murder, according to CNN. Mr McDaniel posted a music video to YouTube for his song "Fadee Free" in mid-July, prompting detectives to pour over the images and lyrics for clues. “Detectives noted the music video bore a sufficient level of similarity to the details of the murder," Mr McDaniel's arrest warrant said. "This includes the fact, that Kenjuan confessed to the murder in his lyrics. … Details provided by Kenjuan in his music video were not released to the public and would not be common knowledge." The arrest warrant includes a few of the lyrics investigators believe show Mr McDaniel's guilt. “I be the reason why he’s dead, we still taunt him when he die/ not the reason he’s dead, so celebrate the reason why his momma cry,” one of the lines included in the warrant states. Another line: “Parked the car, double back on feet, the smartest way to slide, drove in, double lock yo man, make sure you get yo bod’.” The lyrics reportedly revealed details about the murder that have not been made public, according to the investigators. The music video also reportedly featured the rapper re-enacting the murder in a way that is "consistent with evidence at the scene." “The facts gathered during the investigation were obtained separately from the music video. The music video further validated the results of the investigation,” the warrant says. Mr McDaniel has a preliminary hearing set for 14 September. Read More Governor declares New Mexico gun violence as a public health emergency Person shot and critically wounded at Lil Baby concert in Memphis, Tennessee, police say Charges dropped, Riquna Williams wants to rejoin Las Vegas Aces after domestic violence arrest