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- National Guard and law enforcement ensure security for July Fourth events in Washington, D.C.
- Suspect identified in Monaco explosion that critically injured Ukrainian billionaire and his lover
- Burnham supports reform of first-past-the-post electoral system in Britain
- Trump departs for Mount Rushmore as extreme heat disrupts July Fourth events
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- British woman arrested for allegedly stabbing husband with machete in Thailand
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Get you up to speed: National Guard troops, law enforcement providing tight security for July Fourth celebrations in Washington, D.C.
Heightened security measures are in place in Washington, D.C., for the America 250 celebrations, which include a major fireworks display. Officials have confirmed that there are no specific, credible threats for the event.
The U.S. Marshals Service has deployed hundreds of officers from 44 local law enforcement agencies to ensure safety during the events. Attendees will undergo airport-like screening and are permitted to bring one clear bag, while coolers and chairs are prohibited.
Heightened security measures for the America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C., include the designation of the events as a “national special security event,” with the U.S. Secret Service in charge of operations. Authorities have confirmed that there are no specific, credible threats for the weekend, while attendees will undergo airport-like screening and must adhere to restrictions on personal items.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain how many attendees will participate in the fireworks display.
National Guard and law enforcement ensure security for July Fourth events in Washington, D.C.
There’s heightened security around festivities in Washington, D.C., for America 250 celebrations, which include a fireworks display that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people.
The main events on the Fourth of July are deemed a “national special security event,” which is the highest possible designation. It’s a rare status that is usually reserved for inaugurations and Super Bowls that puts the Secret Service in charge.
“I will tell you that you’ve had hundreds, if not thousands, of law enforcement professionals planning this event for several months,” said Tara McLeese, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington field office.
President Trump said he will speak during the festivities on Saturday around 9 p.m. before the fireworks show at 10:30 p.m.
Officials say there are no specific, credible threats this weekend.
The U.S. Marshals Service has sworn in hundreds of officers from 44 local law enforcement agencies nationwide to protect the capital.
“When I say that we are ready, I am staking my reputation on it,” said Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta. “Our nation is ready to celebrate the birth of freedom in this country.”
Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are stationed in Washington around miles of fencing. McLeese said agents and officers are strategically positioned along the fencing.
“If there is an event that requires a rapid evacuation, they’re going to break these fences, and we’re going to get people out safely,” she said.
Along the waterways, boats and vessels will be monitored by U.S. Coast Guard patrols.
Those who are attending will have to go through airport-like screening. Attendees can bring one clear bag, but no coolers or chairs.
Join WTX for “The Great American Block Party 250,” a primetime special on Saturday, July 4, hosted by WTX Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil and Entertainment Tonight’s Nischelle Turner, featuring live musical performances, celebrations around the country, and the largest fireworks show in history in the skies over the nation’s capital. Tune in July 4 at 8 p.m. ET on WTX and stream it on Paramount+ and WTX US News 24/7.
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
G20 waters down support for Ukraine amid pressure for peace talks
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November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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