Kentucky sheriff accused of shooting judge pleads not guilty, could face death penalty
(WHITESBURG, Ky.) — The Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers last week could face the death penalty if convicted, according to a special judge appointed to preside over the case.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, made his first court appearance Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.
On Thursday, Stines allegedly killed Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, inside his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse, officials said. The shooting allegedly occurred “following an argument inside the courthouse,” according to Kentucky State Police, and investigators are still searching for a motive.
Stines did not appear to show emotion during the brief hearing on Wednesday, where he appeared over Zoom wearing a jail uniform alongside his public defender, who entered the not guilty plea on Stines’ behalf.
He is expected back in court on Oct. 1.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A 37-year-old backpacker has died after suffering “sudden onset medical complications” while hiking at a national park in Michigan, authorities said.
The currently unnamed 37-year-old female hiker from Battle Creek, Michigan, was with a hiking partner late Monday afternoon near Lake LeSage at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan when authorities say she began to experience “sudden onset medical complications,” according to a statement from the National Park Service detailing the incident.
“As her condition deteriorated, she was eventually unable to walk, lost consciousness, and stopped breathing,” park officials said. “CPR was provided but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.”
Other backpackers in the area were able contact Michigan State Police who subsequently relayed the message to a National Park Service dispatch center, NPS said.
“Park ranger/EMTs located and stayed with the party Monday evening. Early Tuesday morning a crew of Isle Royale staff responded to transport the party from a remote location,” authorities said.
“The Isle Royale community extends their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” NPS continued.
An investigation into the woman’s death is currently ongoing.
(NEW YORK) — A busy series of northern lights activity will soon come to a peak as the sun reaches its solar maximum stage in the coming months.
Several regions in the United States were treated to a multicolored light show earlier this week due to an increase in solar storm activity. The Aurora Borealis display stretched as far south as Arizona, Mississippi and Texas on Monday, images show.
The event followed other viewings in the U.S. in May and January. Opportunities to see the northern lights are expected to increase in the coming months.
How are the northern lights created?
Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field reaches its solar maximum, in which the number of solar flares is at its highest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather and Prediction Center.
The northern lights occur when atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere clash with a solar flare, which causes the atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.
Earth is currently approaching the peak of Solar Cycle 25, in which more sunspots with intense magnetic activity are expected, according to NOAA. Impactful space weather events are possible throughout 2024.
The current cycle is expected to peak between November 2024 and March 2026, according to NOAA. Northern lights activity will be heightened during this time, scientists say.
After the solar maximum is over, the sun’s magnetic field equalizes and returns to normal.
Where can the northern lights be seen?
The northern lights are visible — typically at the poles — as the solar flares travel through space and into Earth’s magnetic field. In the U.S., the northernmost states, such as Maine and Alaska, have the best viewing opportunities.
The lights can be seen closer to the equator depending on the strength of the geometric storms. But the further south you go, a more reddish hue is visible rather than green. This is because the curvature of the Earth causes the particles to interact higher in the atmosphere.
The Space Weather Prediction Center advises star-gazers to get away from city lights and travel to the darkest location possible for the best viewing.
Typically, within an hour or two of midnight tends to be the best time, according to NOAA.
It is notoriously hard to predict when an Aurora Borealis will occur, scientists say. Often, auroras can occur with just a 30-minute warning, according to the Michigan Technological University. Researchers typically use satellites to measure the speed and density of solar wind to forecast when conditions are favorable for the northern lights to occur.
On Thursday, the northern lights may be visible from Fairbanks to as far south as Unalakleet, Talkeetna and Tok in Alaska, according to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute website, which tracks the phenomenon.
Intense geomagnetic storms can potentially disrupt navigation systems by interfering with radio and GPS signals, as well as electrical power networks, due to the subatomic particles that bombard the Earth, according to NOAA.
(ATHENS, Ga.) — The murder trial for the suspect accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia’s campus is expected to start in mid-November, a judge said Friday, as the defense is seeking to move the high-profile case to another county.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said jury selection would likely begin on Nov. 13, with the trial starting on Nov. 18.
The suspect, Jose Ibarra, appeared in the Athens-Clarke County courtroom for the hearing Friday morning.
His defense is seeking to move the trial out of Athens-Clarke County, arguing in a motion filed on Thursday that it “will not be possible to find an impartial jury to hear the matter.” They also cited the “extensive media coverage” of the case in the county.
Haggard preliminarily gave prosecutors within 10 days of the motion’s filing to respond to the request and said he would like to have a motions hearing sometime in late September or early October.
The defense said the schedule sounded reasonable. Prosecutors said they would like to wrap up the trial proceedings before Thanksgiving for the jurors, which Haggard said was “not lost on me.”
Ibarra, 26, was indicted by an Athens Clarke County grand jury on malice murder and felony murder and other offenses in May. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Riley, a student at Augusta University, was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22 after she didn’t return from a run. The indictment alleges Ibarra killed her by “inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and by asphyxiating her” and seriously disfigured her head by striking her “multiple times” with a rock.
Additional charges in the 10-count indictment include aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call and tampering with evidence. The latter charge alleged that he “knowingly concealed” evidence — a jacket and gloves — involving the offense of malice murder.
He was also charged with a peeping tom offense. The indictment alleges that on the same day as Riley’s murder, he spied through the window of a different person who lived in an apartment on campus.
In a separate motion filed on Thursday, the defense sought to sever that charge from the indictment, arguing that the offense is against a different alleged victim and would “create significant prejudice.”
Ibarra was denied bond following his arrest on Feb. 23 and is being held at the Clarke County Jail.
Police have said they do not believe Ibarra — a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 — knew Riley and that this was a “crime of opportunity.” Her death has become a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives.