Killer’s final apology revealed as he becomes Florida’s oldest executed inmate

Florida executed 74-year-old Dennis Sochor, among its oldest prisoners, on Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
His execution is one of three older inmates scheduled within a month in Florida, the nation’s busiest death penalty state.
Sochor was convicted of killing 18-year-old Patricia Gifford on January 1, 1982, hours after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.
At 6 p.m., with the death chamber curtain raised, Sochor was strapped to a gurney, an IV in his arm. Asked for last words by the warden, Sochor confirmed he had them.
The execution plans highlight the aging death row population in the U.S. and the busy death chamber in Florida, which has now carried out 10 of the 16 executions conducted in the nation this year (AP Photo/Curt Anderson)He apologized several times to the Gifford family, saying he was “deeply sorry” and also thanked his own loved ones for their support over the years. Then he commended..

Continue Reading

“He was punching me”: Ria Jalesa accuses Beyoncé’s nephew Julez Smith of hotel assault, says she was left with bruises

“He was punching me”: Ria Jalesa accuses Beyoncé’s nephew Julez Smith of hotel assault, says she was left with bruises (Image via Getty) Twitch streamer and content creator Ria Jalesa has publicly accused Julez Smith, the son of Solange Knowles and nephew of Beyoncé, of physically assaulting her during an encounter at a hotel. Speaking during a recent livestream, Ria described an alleged incident that she said left her with bruises and scratches across her body. She also claimed Smith later threatened her and pointed a firearm at her. The allegations gained attention after Instagram account Livebitez shared clips from her livestream on July 12. As of now, Julez Smith has not publicly responded to the claims, and the allegations remain unverified.Ria Jalesa says Julez Smith became angry after hotel encounter and allegedly assaulted herDuring the livestream, Ria Jalesa said she met Julez Smith for what she described as a casual meetup at a hotel. According to her account, the situation c..

Continue Reading

UK: Peterborough council denies sale of Hindu temple to mosque is ‘unlawful’

The council decided to sell the site to UKIM on Feb 10 even though Bharat Hindu Samaj (BHS) is a sitting tenant LONDON: Peterborough city council argued at the high court here on Monday that its decision to sell a complex housing a Hindu temple to a Muslim association to redevelop it as a mosque and Islamic centre was “not unlawful”.Catherine Rowlands, representing the council, said the fact the Hindu community would lose the only temple they had in a 35-mile radius did not make the decision to sell the New England Complex to the UK Islamic Mission (UKIM) — who plan to build Masjid Khadijah there — illegal, nor was it a breach of public sector equality duty.“Protected characteristics (eg Hindu faith) need to be taken into consideration when reaching a decision, but do not dictate a decision,” Rowlands said, pointing out the Hindus were protected by tenancy rights until the site was redeveloped, at which point they would be evicted.“It is the council’s position that the Hindu community ..

Continue Reading

UAE says Iranian missiles struck tankers in Hormuz, killing and injuring crew

One Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded when two Emirati oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday, in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.
The ‌ministry said the tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were targeted in the southern lane of the strait while in Omani territorial waters. The dead crew member was aboard the Mombasa, it said.
Of the eight wounded, four were…

Continue Reading

Iran-US war latest: Trump resumes airstrikes after claiming ‘foolish’ Tehran broke deal ‘probably 10 times’

US releases video of forces carrying out another wave of strikes on IranThe U.S. is in the process of launching another volley of strikes at Iranian targets.
“We’re hitting ‘em very heavy tonight,” President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
He accused Tehran of being “foolish” and repeatedly breaking the tentative peace deal brokered last month.
Iran allegedly retaliated by striking two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and injuring eight, and launching attempted attacks on Bahrain.
The renewed strikes come as Trump has vowed to charge a 20 percent toll on vessels moving through the strait, a plan which Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has mocked.
Trump says the U.S. will reinstate the Iranian blockade and impose the tax as part of a new role as the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait.”
But Araghchi mocked the plan and wrote on X that Iran will always be the “guardian of the strait,” joking that a 20 percent fee is too expensive a..

Continue Reading

Chinese medical device makers push into Europe as anti-corruption squeeze bites at home

Facing anti-corruption policies and profit squeezing at home, Chinese innovative medical device companies are accelerating their push into the European market despite mounting cross-border trade protectionism.
Government-backed hospital purchases of medical devices in China fell about 12 per cent year on year in the first five months of 2026, partly weighed down by “a new anti-corruption probe into hospitals”, dragging on the revenue of major Chinese medical device makers in the first half, said…

Continue Reading

What to know about Trump’s push to shrink Utah national monuments

President Donald Trump announced Monday his intention to scale back the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, revisiting actions from his first term that were later reversed.
This move directly challenges proclamations by his predecessors, who deemed these sites worthy of preservation under the 1906 Antiquities Act, a law granting presidents power to protect areas of cultural, historic, or scientific interest.
The back-and-forth over these protected areas underscores how national monuments have become a significant flashpoint in the management of public lands.
While Trump made similar reductions during his first term, which were subsequently undone by his successor, he is not the first president to reduce the size of such monuments.
Trump made similar moves during his first term, but many were reversed by his successor (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Here’s a look at U.S. national monuments and presidents who have created or reshaped them:
How many national..

Continue Reading