by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, us
The man who investigators say is connected to a string of unusual animal habitat tamperings at the Dallas Zoo – including the alleged theft of two tamarin monkeys – was indicted Tuesday on felony burglary charges, court records show.
Davion Irvin, 24, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of burglary to a building, the records show. Dallas police have said the charges relate to the suspected theft in late January of the tamarin monkeys and the mid-January disappearance of a clouded leopard from its enclosure after its fence had been cut.
Irvin also is facing six misdemeanor counts of non-livestock animal cruelty in connection with the monkeys, according to police.
Irvin was arrested February 2, just days after police say the tamarin monkeys were intentionally taken from their zoo enclosure, which had been cut open. Two days before Irvin’s arrest, police found the monkeys unharmed in the closet of a Dallas-area home.
The indictment alleges that Irvin entered a building without the zoo’s consent on the day the monkeys disappeared and “did then and there commit a theft.”
CNN has sought comment from Irvin’s public defender.
The suspect was arrested after being spotted at The Dallas World Aquarium, where investigators “believe that he was looking to commit another crime,” a police spokesperson said in February.
Investigators also accuse Irvin of entering the Dallas Zoo in the early morning of January 13 and cutting the fence surrounding the habitat of a clouded leopard named Nova, allegedly intending to take the animal, according to arrest warrant affidavits.
Irvin allegedly told investigators he petted the leopard, but the 25-pound animal leapt too high in its enclosure, and he wasn’t able to catch the animal, according to the affidavits. He left the enclosure, but the leopard escaped through the cut he allegedly made, prompting the zoo to close to the public and conduct an hours-long search for the animal, which was found near its habitat later that day.
In the case of the snow leopard, the indictment alleges Irvin had the “intent to commit theft.”
The strange escapes were part of a series of other suspicious incidents involving animals at the zoo, including cuts made to the enclosure of some langur monkeys and the death of a vulture under “unusual” circumstances,” the zoo said.
Police said they believe Irvin is linked to the langur monkey case, but not the death of the vulture. No charges in the langur monkey case have been announced.
In response to the events, the zoo heightened its security, including installing more cameras and increasing patrols and overnight staff.
Irvin is being held in a Dallas County jail with bond set at $130,000, jail records show.
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Rand Paul, US senator from Kentucky.
Birth date: January 7, 1963
Birth place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Birth name: Randal Howard Paul
Father: Ron Paul, former presidential candidate and retired US representative from Texas
Mother: Carol (Wells) Paul
Marriage: Kelley (Ashby) Paul
Children: Robert, Duncan and William
Education: Attended Baylor University, 1981-1984; Duke University School of Medicine, M.D., 1988
Religion: Christian
Practiced as an ophthalmologist for 18 years.
Former president and longtime member of the Lions Club International.
Was active in the congressional and presidential campaigns of his father, Ron Paul.
1993 – Completes his ophthalmology residency at Duke University Medical Center.
1994 – Founds grassroots organization Kentucky Taxpayers United, which monitors state taxation and spending. It is legally dissolved in 2000.
1995 – Founds the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, a non-profit providing eye exams and surgeries to those in need.
August 5, 2009 – Announces on Fox News that he is running as a Republican for the US Senate to represent Kentucky.
May 18, 2010 – Defeats Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the Kentucky GOP Senate primary.
May 19, 2010 – In interviews with NPR and MSNBC, while answering questions about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Paul expresses strong abhorrence for racism, but says that it is the job of communities, not the government, to address discrimination. Paul later releases a statement saying that he supports the Civil Rights Act and would not support its repeal.
November 2, 2010 – Paul is elected to the Senate, defeating Jack Conway.
January 5, 2011 – Sworn in for the 112th Congress. It is the first time a son joins the Senate while his father concurrently serves in the House. Ron Paul retires from the House in 2013.
January 27, 2011 – Participates in the inaugural meeting of the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Senators Mike Lee and Jim DeMint.
February 22, 2011 – Paul’s book “The Tea Party Goes to Washington” is published.
September 11, 2012 – Paul’s book “Government Bullies: How Everyday Americans Are Being Harassed, Abused, and Imprisoned by the Feds” is published. He is later accused of plagiarism in some of his speeches and writings, including in “Government Bullies.” Paul ultimately takes responsibility, saying his office had been “sloppy” and pledging to add footnotes to all of his future material.
February 12, 2013 – Delivers the Tea Party response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
March 6-7, 2013 – Paul speaks for almost 13 hours, filibustering to stall a confirmation vote on CIA Director nominee John Brennan.
February 12, 2014 – Paul and the conservative group FreedomWorks file a class-action lawsuit against Obama and top national security officials over the government’s electronic surveillance program made public by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden. The lawsuit is later dismissed.
December 2, 2014 – Paul announces his bid for a second term in the Senate.
April 7, 2015 – Paul announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event in Louisville, Kentucky.
May 20, 2015 – After 10 hours and 30 minutes, Paul ends his “filibuster” over National Security Agency surveillance programs authorized under the Patriot Act. Paul’s speech wasn’t technically a filibuster because of intricate Senate rules, but his office insists it was a filibuster.
August 5, 2015 – The Justice Department indicts two officials from a Rand Paul Super PAC for conspiracy and falsifying campaign records. During the 2012 presidential primary season, Jesse Benton and John Tate allegedly bribed an Iowa state senator to get him to endorse Ron Paul. Benton and Tate go on to help run one of the Super PACs supporting Rand Paul, America’s Liberty PAC. Both men are later convicted.
February 3, 2016 – Announces that he is suspending his campaign for the presidency.
November 8, 2016 – Wins a second term in the Senate, defeating Democrat Jim Gray.
November 3, 2017 – A neighbor assaults Paul at his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which results in six broken ribs and a pleural effusion – a build-up of fluid around the lungs. The attorney representing Paul’s neighbor, Rene Boucher, later says that the occurrence had “absolutely nothing” to do with politics and was “a very regrettable dispute between two neighbors over a matter that most people would regard as trivial.” Boucher, who pleaded guilty to the assault, is sentenced in June 2018 to 30 days in prison with a year of supervised release.
August 2018 – Goes to Moscow and meets with Russian lawmakers, extending an invitation to visit the United States. While abroad, Paul tweets that he delivered a letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin from US President Donald Trump. A White House spokesman later says that Paul asked Trump to provide a letter of introduction. After he returns, Paul says that he plans to ask Trump to lift sanctions on members of the Russian legislature so they can come to Washington for meetings with their American counterparts.
January 29, 2019 – A jury awards him more than $580,000 in his lawsuit against the neighbor who attacked him in 2017. The amount includes punitive damages and payment for pain and suffering as well as medical damages.
August 5, 2019 – Paul says part of his lung had to be removed by surgery following the 2017 attack by Boucher.
March 22, 2020 – Paul announces that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first US senator to test positive for coronavirus.
August 10, 2021 – Paul is suspended from YouTube for seven days over a video claiming that masks are ineffective in fighting Covid-19, according to a YouTube spokesperson.
November 8, 2022 – Wins reelection to the Senate for a third term.
October 10, 2023 – Paul’s book “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up” is published.
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Democratic US Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Birth date: February 26, 1958
Birth place: St. Paul, Minnesota
Birth name: Timothy Michael Kaine
Father: Albert Alexander Kaine Jr., ironworker
Mother: Mary Kathleen (Burns) Kaine, teacher
Marriage: Anne Holton (1984-present)
Children: Nat, Woody and Annella
Education: University of Missouri, B.A., 1979; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1983
Religion: Roman Catholic
Practiced law in Richmond, Virginia, for 17 years, representing people who were denied fair housing opportunities because of race or disability.
Was the first Virginia governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated at the Colonial Capital in Williamsburg.
Fluent in Spanish. He took a year off from Harvard to help Jesuit missionaries run a one-room technical school in Honduras.
One of a few dozen people in American history to serve as mayor, governor and US senator.
1987-1993 – Teaches legal ethics at the University of Richmond School of Law.
1994-1998 – Serves as city council member in Richmond, Virginia.
1998-2000 – Serves as mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
2002-2006 – Serves as lieutenant governor of Virginia.
January 14, 2006-January 15, 2010 – Serves as governor of Virginia.
2008 – Is rumored to be one of President Barack Obama’s picks for vice president.
2009-2011 – Serves as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
January 3, 2013 – Sworn in as senator of Virginia.
June 11, 2013 – Delivers a speech in Spanish during a debate on the Senate’s immigration bill. Kaine is the first senator to deliver a full speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English.
February 2015 – Co-sponsors the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
July 22, 2016 – Named as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate in the presidential election.
November 8, 2016 – The Clinton-Kaine ticket is defeated in the presidential election by the Donald Trump–Mike Pence ticket.
November 6, 2018 – Reelected senator of Virginia.
February 13, 2020 – A bipartisan Iran war powers resolution sponsored by Kaine is passed in the senate with a vote of 55 to 45. This follows the military action, initiated unilaterally by Trump, that resulted in the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January. Chiefly authored by Kaine with initial co-sponsors Mike Lee, Rand Paul and Richard Durbin, the act is “a joint resolution to direct the removal of United States armed forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.
January 3, 2022 – Along with hundreds of other motorists, Kaine is stranded for more than 24 hours on a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in eastern Virginia after a winter storm dumps more than a foot of snow in the area.
January 20, 2023 – Announces he is running for reelection in 2024.
by tyler | Feb 12, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at mine disasters, accidents and deaths in the United States. This is a list of notable mine disasters and is not all-inclusive.
December 6, 1907 – Worst coal mine disaster in US history: 362 miners are killed in an explosion at the Monongah Nos. 6 and 8 coal mines in Monongah, West Virginia.
December 19, 1907 – An explosion kills 239 at the Darr mine near Van Meter, Pennsylvania.
November 13, 1909 – 259 miners are killed in a fire at the Cherry mine in Cherry, Illinois.
October 22, 1913 – An explosion kills 263 at the Stag Canon No. 2 coal mine in Dawson, New Mexico.
June 8, 1917 – 163 miners are killed in a fire at the Granite Mountain shaft mine in Butte, Montana.
January 10, 1940 – 91 miners are killed by an explosion at Pond Creek No. 1 in Bartley, West Virginia.
March 16, 1940 – An explosion at the Willow Grove No. 10 mine in St. Clairsville, Ohio, kills 72 miners.
March 25, 1947 – 111 miners are killed in an explosion at the Centralia No. 5 mine in Centralia, Illinois.
December 21, 1951 – An explosion at Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort, Illinois, kills 119 miners.
November 20, 1968 – 78 miners are killed by an explosion at Consol No. 9 mine in Farmington, West Virginia.
December 30, 1970 – 38 miners are killed in an explosion at Nos. 15 and 16 mines in Hyden, Kentucky.
May 2, 1972 – 91 miners are killed in a fire at the Sunshine mine in Kellogg, Idaho.
April 15, 1981 – 15 miners are killed by an explosion at Dutch Creek No. 1, Mid-Continent Resources, Inc. in Redstone, Colorado.
December 19, 1984 – 27 miners are killed in a fire at the Wilberg mine in Emery County, Utah.
September 23, 2001 – 13 miners are killed by an explosion at the No. 5 mine, Jim Walter Resources, Inc. in Brookwood, Alabama.
July 24, 2002 – Nine coal miners from Quecreek Mining Inc. in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are trapped in a four-foot-high chamber 240 feet below the surface after breaching a wall separating their mine from an older, flooded shaft. All survive and are rescued on July 28.
January 2, 2006 – An explosion occurs at around 6:30 a.m. at the Sago mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia, trapping 13 miners. 12 of the men had died from carbon monoxide poisoning by the time rescuers reach them around midnight January 3-4. Randal McCloy, 27, is the only survivor.
May 20, 2006 – Five miners are killed in an explosion at the Darby mine No. 1 in Harlan County, Kentucky. One miner, Paul Ledford, survives.
Crandall Canyon
August 6, 2007 – Six miners are trapped at the Crandall Canyon mine in Huntington, Utah, when areas of the mine collapse.
August 16, 2007 – Three rescue workers are killed and six are injured when a part of the mine collapses on them.
August 31, 2007 – The search for the six trapped miners is officially called off and declared too dangerous for continued rescue efforts.
May 8, 2008 – Rep. George Miller releases a report from the House Education and Labor Committee about the panel’s investigation of the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster. He recommends that a criminal investigation be conducted.
July 24, 2008 – The US government fines the mine operator, Genwal Resources, $1.34 million “for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year,” plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. It levies the mining consultant, Agapito Associates, $220,000 “for faulty analysis of the mine’s design.”
April 5, 2010 – 29 miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Naoma, West Virginia.
April 29, 2011 – Massey Energy agrees to permanently seal the Upper Big Branch mine.
May 19, 2011 – According to the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel’s report, the explosion was preventable and due to safety system failures.
December 6, 2011 – The Justice Department announces a deal where the new owners of the Upper Big Branch coal mine will pay a $209 million settlement, including $1.5 million to the families of each of the 29 men who died.
January 10, 2012 – The owner of the West Virginia mine settles the wrongful death lawsuits with families of all 29 victims of the Upper Big Branch disaster. CNN confirms that the settlement was reached in mediation for seven of the cases on January 8, 2012, and 22 of the cases on January 10, 2012.
February 22, 2012 – Gary May, the Upper Big Branch mine’s superintendent at the time of the explosion, is charged with conspiring to impede the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s enforcement efforts at the mine between February 2008 and April 5, 2010. He pleads guilty in March 2012.
February 29, 2012 – Hughie Elbert Stover, former security director for Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch coal mine, is sentenced to 36 months in jail for making a false statement and obstructing the government’s investigation.
June 20, 2012 – Alpha Natural Resources seals the Upper Big Branch mine permanently.
January 17, 2013 – Former mine superintendent May is sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years supervised release.
September 10, 2013 – David Hughart, the highest-ranking company official, and former Massey Energy division president, is sentenced to 42 months in prison for violating mine health and safety laws.
November 13, 2014 – Don Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy, is indicted on federal charges for conspiracy to violate mandatory mine safety and health standards, conspiracy to impede federal mine safety officials, making false statements to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and for securities fraud.
December 3, 2015 – Blankenship is convicted of conspiracy to willfully violate mine health and safety standards, and is acquitted on two other felony charges.
April 6, 2016 – Blankenship is sentenced to a year in federal prison.
November 28, 2017 – Blankenship files election papers to run for US Senate.
August 28, 2018 – Blankenship is denied a Senate ballot spot by West Virginia Supreme Court after he loses the Republican primary.
by tyler | Feb 12, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of George Ryan, the former governor of Illinois who served time in prison after being convicted on racketeering, conspiracy and fraud charges.
Birth date: February 24, 1934
Birth place: Maquoketa, Iowa
Birth name: George Homer Ryan
Father: Thomas Ryan, pharmacist
Mother: Jeannette Ryan
Marriage: Lura Lynn Lowe (1956-June 27, 2011, her death)
Children: Nancy, Lynda, George Jr. and triplets: Julie, Joanne and Jeanette
Education: Ferris State College, B.S., 1961
Military service: Army, 1954-1956
Religion: Methodist
Worked as a pharmacist at his family’s business.
“Our capital punishment system is haunted by the demon of error – error in determining guilt, error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die,” Ryan said in a 2003 speech announcing blanket commutations.
The 163 men and four women whose sentences Ryan commuted were convicted of killing more than 250 people.
1968 – Serves as chairman of the Kankakee, Illinois, County Board.
1972 – Is elected to the Illinois House of Representatives.
1981-1983 – Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
1983-1991 – Lieutenant governor of Illinois.
1990 – Becomes secretary of state under Governor Jim Edgar.
November 3, 1998 – Is elected governor of Illinois.
January 11, 1999 – Takes office as governor.
October 1999 – Meets with Cuban President Fidel Castro during a humanitarian mission. It is the first visit to Cuba by a sitting US governor since Castro took power in 1959.
January 31, 2000 – Calls for a moratorium on executions, “until I can be sure that everyone sentenced to death in Illinois is truly guilty.”
August 8, 2001 – Rules out running for reelection because of a scandal over bribery.
October 2002 – Orders the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to hold two weeks of clemency hearings for almost all of the death row inmates. He does not attend the hearings.
January 11, 2003 – In one of his last acts as governor of Illinois, Ryan commutes the sentences of all 167 inmates on Illinois’s death row.
December 17, 2003 – Is indicted on federal charges of taking payoffs, gifts and vacations in return for government contracts and leases.
April 2006 – Convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud and other offenses for taking payoffs from political insiders in exchange for state business while he was Illinois secretary of state and governor.
September 6, 2006 – Is sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.
November 7, 2007 – Ryan reports to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wisconsin, to begin serving his prison sentence.
February 28, 2008 – Is transferred to Terra Haute FCI in Indiana.
November 25, 2008 – Ryan appeals for clemency in a letter to President George W. Bush. He is backed in his clemency appeal by Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Bush leaves office on January 20 without granting Ryan clemency.
December 12, 2008 – Ryan apologizes for the crimes he committed in office as part of his bid for clemency. He says, “I want to make things right in my heart with God, with my family and with those I have hurt…As a former public official, a husband, a father and a grandfather, I apologize.”
February 7, 2009 – An Illinois appellate court rules that Ryan is eligible for part of his state pension, an estimated $65,000 a year. The pension will cover the years he worked in the state legislature and as the lieutenant governor.
February 19, 2010 – The Illinois Supreme Court reverses the appellate court decision, stating that Ryan is not entitled to any of his state pension.
June 27, 2011 – Ryan’s wife Lura dies after suffering from terminal lung cancer. Ryan is temporarily released from prison so that he can be with her during her final hours.
January 30, 2013 – Is released to home confinement to complete the rest of his sentence.
July 3, 2013 – Is released from home confinement.
September 10-September 13, 2018 – At the invitation of the Cuban government, revisits the country along with Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls, and others.
December 13, 2018 – The Woman’s Club of Kankakee, Illinois, honors three former governors from the city, including Ryan, with its “Three Governors Wall.” Ryan attends the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
September 18, 2020 – His book, co-written with Maurice Possley, titled “Until I Could Be Sure: How I Stopped the Death Penalty in Illinois,” is published.
by tyler | Feb 12, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Joseph Lieberman, former United States senator from Connecticut.
Birth date: February 24, 1942
Birth place: Stamford, Connecticut
Birth name: Joseph Isadore Lieberman
Father: Henry Lieberman, package-store owner
Mother: Marcia (Manger) Lieberman
Marriages: Hadassah (Freilich) Lieberman (1983-present); Elizabeth Haas (1965-1981, divorced)
Children: with Hadassah Lieberman: Hani and Ethan (stepson); with Betty Haas: Rebecca and Matthew
Education: Yale University, B.A., 1964, Yale Law School, L.L.B, 1967
Religion: Jewish
Lieberman was Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential campaign. He is the first Jewish person to be nominated by a major party.
When Lieberman ran for state senate in 1970, one of the volunteers who worked on his campaign was future President Bill Clinton.
At Yale, his nickname was “Senator.”
He has said that he took time off from college in 1963 to spend a few weeks in Mississippi doing civil rights work.
1967-1969 – Works with the private law firm Wiggin and Dana.
1968 – Runs the Connecticut presidential campaign of Democrat Robert F. Kennedy.
1970 – Is elected to the Connecticut Senate, representing New Haven.
1972-1983 – Partner in the law firm Lieberman, Segaloff and Wolfson.
1975-1981 – Majority leader of the Connecticut Senate.
1980 – Runs unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress.
1983-1988 – Attorney general of Connecticut.
November 8, 1988 – Becomes the first Orthodox Jew to be elected to the US Senate.
1989-2013 – US senator from Connecticut.
1995-2001 – Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.
August 8, 2000 – Vice President Gore selects Lieberman as his running mate in the presidential race.
January 7, 2003 – Publishes the book, “An Amazing Adventure: Joe and Hadassah’s Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign,” along with his wife Hadassah Lieberman.
January 13, 2003 – Declares he will run for president in the 2004 election.
February 3, 2004 – Drops out of the race for president.
August 8, 2006 – Is defeated in Connecticut’s Democratic Senate primary by Ned Lamont. Lieberman then announces he will run in the election as an Independent.
November 7, 2006 – Wins reelection as an Independent.
December 17, 2007 – Endorses Republican Senator John McCain during the primary campaign for the presidential nomination. The endorsement stirs up controversy and after the election, the Senate Democratic Caucus strips him of his spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Lieberman is allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
January 19, 2011 – Announces that he will not run for reelection.
January 2013 – Retires from the Senate.
June 6, 2013 – Joins the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.
January 2, 2014 – Announces he will serve as executive board chairman of Victory Park Capital, a private equity firm.
January 12, 2015 – After the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, Lieberman writes an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal and states that a global alliance is necessary to combat terrorists.
August 10, 2015 – United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group that campaigns for sanctions against Iran, announces that Lieberman is its new chairman.
May 17, 2017 – White House Spokesman Sean Spicer says that Lieberman is a candidate to replace James Comey as director of the FBI.
May 25, 2017 – Withdraws his name from consideration for the position of FBI director.
September 9, 2019 – In an opinion piece for USA Today, Lieberman, representing UANI, writes that the 2020 democratic presidential candidates should support Trump’s Iran policy and not pledge to rejoin the 2015 nuclear agreement.
October 19, 2021 – Lieberman’s book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work and Can Make It Work Again, is published.
December 4, 2023 – Yeshiva University announces the establishment of the Senator Joseph Lieberman Center for Public Service and Advocacy.
