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Freed man says he relied on mother, God while behind bars

Dontae Sharpe went free after an evidentiary hearing Pitt County court in Greenville, where a judge ordered a new trial. Prosecutors then said they wouldn't seek a retrial, and the 44-year-old Sharpe was released within about an hour, said his attorney, Theresa Newman. When asked in a phone interview how he maintained his determination to reject offers of a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea, Sharpe said: "My faith, knowing I was innocent and the way I was raised.

Atlanta-based company execs survived California plane crash

Eight executives of an Atlanta-based package company were among the 10 people who escaped when a plane burst into flames at a small Northern California airport, a company spokeswoman said Thursday. The twin-engine Cessna Citation jet aborted its takeoff, went off the runway and burst into flames Wednesday at the Oroville Municipal Airport, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento. Along with two pilots, eight executives from Graphics Packaging International survived the crash unharmed, company spokesperson Sue Appleyard confirmed.

North Dakota agency disregarded policy on spill reporting

North Dakota's Health Department disregarded its own policy in updating the volume of a 2015 pipeline spill at a natural gas processing plant, and it remains unclear whether promised quarterly inspections of the site have been done in the past two years as cleanup continued. Oklahoma-based Oneok Partners LP reported a 10-gallon (38-liter) spill of natural gas liquids, or "condensate," from an underground pipeline at its Garden Creek gas plant near Watford City in July 2015. The second sum was not put into an incident report that can be accessed on the agency's website.

Duke of York should 'answer questions,' father of alleged Epstein victim says

The Duke of York must "answer questions" about allegations he had sex with Jeffrey Epstein's teen "sex slave," the girls's father said. Virginia Giuffre alleged in court papers in Florida that she was forced to have sex with the Duke when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state. Buckingham Palace has vehemently denied the allegations. But Sky Roberts, her father, put further pressure on the Duke, telling The Daily Telegraph he believed the royal family was complicit in blocking a full telling of what happened in the Epstein scandal. Speaking for the first time since video emerged of the Duke inside the paedophile's mansion in 2010, Mr Roberts, 62, accused the Duke of trying to distance himself. Mr Roberts, who lives in Florida, said: "He [the Duke] should answer questions. It's been a long time but they [the royal family] are trying to step away from it - just like everyone else tried to do." He said nobody knew "everything that went on," but there were "lots of friends of Epstein. Some of them may have been good people, some bad people." Asked if he believed the royal family was trying to "cover up" and stop the Duke having to give evidence in the case, he said: "Of course - but that's not for me to say." A picture of Virginia Giuffre with the Duke of York Mr Roberts was hired as a maintenance worker at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, and got his daughter a job as an attendant there in 2000. She was then allegedly recruited into Epstein's world, and the following year was photographed with the Duke's arm around her. All the allegations about the Duke were struck from the court record in 2015 after being described as "immaterial and impertinent" by a judge. The Duke has always denied the allegations and any involvement. Epstein, a convicted paedophile, took his own life in a New York jail cell on August 10 while awaiting trial on further underage sex trafficking charges. As the Duke faced increasing scrutiny over his links to Epstein it emerged the financier had taken steps to shield his fortune from dozens of alleged victims who may sue. A will, signed two days before he died, and filed in the US Virgin Islands, put Epstein's $577 million in assets into a trust called the "1953 Trust," named after the year of his birth. It shrouded from public view the identities of the beneficiaries. Legal experts said prying open the trust and obtaining damages could take years. Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims, said: "This is the last act of Epstein's manipulation of the system, even in death."

Suspect in California campus killing was co-worker

A suspect arrested in the stabbing death of a man at the California State University, Fullerton campus was a co-worker of the victim, police said Thursday. Chuyen Vo, 51, was arrested Wednesday night at his home in Huntington Beach, officials announced at a news conference near the killing scene in a campus parking lot. The victim, Steven Shek Keung Chan, 57, worked as the director of budget and finance and student services for university extended education but retired in 2017.

Lightning strikes kill 5, injure over 100 in Tatra Mountains

Lightning struck across the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland and neighboring Slovakia on Thursday, killing five people and injuring over 100 others in an area popular with hikers and families, authorities said. The lightning strikes pummeled Poland's Giewont peak, a trekking destination that is 1,894 meters (6,214 feet) high, as well as other locations across the Tatras. Four people were killed on the Polish side, including two children, a spokeswoman for the Polish air ambulance service, Kinga Czerwinska, told the news broadcaster TVN24.

Parking lot shooter told detectives he feared severe injury

Prosecutors played Michael Drejka's interview with Pinellas County detectives during his manslaughter trial in Clearwater, Florida. Drejka, who is white, shot while on his back from close range seconds after McGlockton shoved him as Drejka argued with McGlockton's girlfriend. Pinellas County Sheriff's Detective Richard Redman testified that Drejka, 49, willingly spoke to him and Detective George Moffett about five hours after the shooting without an attorney.

Man charged in death of Detroit girl attacked by 3 dogs

A man was charged Thursday in the death of a 9-year-old Detroit girl, who was mauled by three dogs despite rescue efforts by neighbors, her father and emergency workers. Pierre Cleveland, 33, was charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and having a dangerous animal causing death, Wayne County prosecutors said. Cleveland owned the pit bulls or pit bull mixes that got free from his yard and attacked Emma Hernandez as she rode a bike Monday in her neighborhood on the city's southwest side.

Hasbro to buy studio Entertainment One, home of Peppa Pig, for $4 billion

It has been tying up with movie studios such as Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Co to boost sales of toys linked to big movie franchises. "Hasbro will leverage eOne's immersive entertainment capabilities to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and families to all screens globally," Hasbro's Chief Executive Officer Brian Goldner said. Hasbro will pay 5.60 pounds per share and will finance the deal with debt and $1.0 billion to $1.25 billion in cash from equity financing, the companies said.

Serial killer in 1994 spree set to be executed in Florida

A serial killer who preyed on older gay men during a rampage 25 years ago that left six dead on or near the U.S. East Coast is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening. Gary Ray Bowles, 57, is set to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. Hinton was Bowles sixth and final known victim in a series of killings that began in Daytona Beach with John Hardy Roberts.

Jewish groups speaking out against Trump immigration policy

From fiery protests outside detention centers in Texas, New Jersey and Rhode Island to a sit-in that blockaded an Amazon store in New York, a fledgling coalition of liberal Jewish groups is increasingly making itself heard as it fights the Trump administration's immigration policies. Using the social media tag #JewsAgainstIce, the movement has likened President Donald Trump's actions on asylum and incarceration to what went on as the Holocaust was taking shape. "It's a cause that the Jews feel very deeply," said Rabbi Jill Jacobs with T'ruah, a human rights organization that represents 2,000 rabbis nationwide.

1998 Montana murder case dragged on as opportunities missed

More than 17 years after he slashed the throat of a teenage clerk while robbing a Montana video rental store, Zachary O'Neill says guilt overcame him and he tried to tell authorities he was the culprit. "I was wondering why they didn't even follow up and investigate," O'Neill said about his April 2016 confession at a psychiatric hospital in Spokane, Washington. "They just told me I could go," O'Neill told The Associated Press in a jailhouse interview.

Man arrested for holding woman as sex slave and keeping her eight-month-old baby captive

A North Carolina man has been arrested after holding a woman and her 8-month-old baby captive for over a month, authorities said.The Pender County Sheriff’s department said in a press release they received an emergency call on 9 August from a woman who said she was being held against her will at a home in Willard, North Carolina.

Gap same-store sales disappoint as Old Navy struggles

Old Navy, which offers more affordable clothing and accessories, has been a bright spot for the company in the past. Overall, sales at the company's Gap, Old Navy and other stores open for at least a year fell 4% in the second quarter ended Aug. 3, compared with analysts' estimates of a 3.09% drop, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Report alleges sex abuse by 40 Vermont priests since 1950

A report released Thursday by Vermont's Roman Catholic Church found there were "credible and substantiated" allegations of the sexual abuse of minors against 40 priests in the state since 1950. All but one of those allegations occurred prior to 2000, and none of the priests is still in ministry, the report said. Most of the priests who were named in the report are now dead.

The Latest: No visits for serial killer set to be executed

A serial killer who preyed on older gay men during a rampage that left six dead a quarter century ago received no visitors in the hours before his planned execution. Officials at Florida State Prison in Starke say 57-year-old Gary Ray Bowles did eat a meal of three cheeseburgers, French fries and bacon as execution preparations were being made. Hinton was Bowles' sixth and final known victim in a spree that began in Daytona Beach with the slaying of John Hardy Roberts.

Oklahoma man gets life in prison for child pornography

A judge sentenced an Oklahoma man to life in prison plus nearly 150 years more for hiding cameras in homes to capture images of girls, saying she would have ordered his castration if the law allowed. Ryan Aaron Alden pleaded guilty in June to 28 felonies, including creating child pornography, aggravated possession of obscene material of minors and using video equipment in a clandestine manner. "We're here because of the choices that you and you alone made," Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo told the 39-year-old Alden during sentencing Wednesday.

Kasich, Gee group to push opioid settlement toward hospitals

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich are creating a nonprofit that will fight to steer cash from any national opioid settlement to hospitals, rather than to local and state governments already sparring for control of the dollars. Gee and Kasich say Citizens for Effective Opioid Treatment, a 501(c)4 organization announced Thursday, will educate policymakers and the public about the negative impact the opioid epidemic has had on health care infrastructure and advance health-related research solutions to the crisis. "It's an educational effort," Gee said.

Miley Cyrus denies cheating on Liam Hemsworth in series of candid tweets

After Liam Hemsworth filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus on Wednesday, Cyrus took to Twitter to defend herself against rumors that her infidelity was the reason for their split. "I can admit to a lot of things but I refuse to admit that my marriage ended because of cheating," the singer added.