Pilot dies after crash involving plane, tractor-trailer on I-85 in Davidson County

DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A pilot died and emergency crews are on scene after a plane crash involving a tractor-trailer shut down the southbound lanes of Interstate-85 on Wednesday afternoon, officials told sister-station WGHP.

Troopers said the plane was fully engulfed in flames after crashing into a tractor-trailer.

The southbound lanes were closed between exit 91 and exit 88 near Linwood at 5:21 p.m. and are expected to reopen around 11 p.m., according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was out of the vehicle. The identity of the pilot was not known.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron crashed into a tractor-trailer on I-85 near the Davidson County Airport in Lexington around 5:35 p.m.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate.

The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation, according to the FAA.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/pilot-dies-after-crash-involving-plane-tractor-trailer-on-i-85-in-davidson-county/

Judge temporarily blocks release of Bob Saget death records, photos

By Lexi Lonas - 02/16/22 10:02 PM EST

A judge has temporarily blocked the release of Bob Saget’s death records and photos at the request of his family.

The “Full House” actor’s family sued the Orange County Sheriff and the District Nine Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday, as they both investigated the death and have access to the records.

Circuit Judge Vincent Chiu granted the temporarily injunction on the grounds the release of the records would cause “severe mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress" for his family, and "would cause immediate and widespread dissemination of the Records to the internet, as well as print and television media outlets," USA Today reported.

The lawsuit said it would cause harm to his wife and three daughters for the records to be released as they include pictures and videos that "graphically depict Mr. Saget, his likeness or features or parts of him."

“While we are sensitive to the family’s concerns about the right to privacy, that must be balanced with our commitment to transparency, compliance with the law, and the public’s right to know,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to USA Today.

Saget died in a Florida hotel room in January from head trauma, with investigators finding no drugs or alcohol in his system.

Authorities "concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep."

The Hill has reached out to the sheriff’s office and examiner’s office for comment.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/594658-judge-temporarily-blocks-release-of-bob-saget-death-records

Decision on Iran nuclear deal days away, ball in Tehran's court - France

PARIS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - France on Wednesday said a decision on salvaging Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers was just days away and that it was now up to Tehran to make the political choice while Tehran called on Western powers to be "realistic."

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the tattered agreement resumed last week after a 10-day hiatus and officials from the other parties to the accord Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia have shuttled between the two sides as they seek to close gaps.

Western diplomats previously indicated they hoped to have a breakthrough by now, but tough issues remain unresolved. Iran has rejected any deadline imposed by Western powers.

"We have reached tipping point now. It's not a matter of weeks; it's a matter of days," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament, adding that the Western powers, Russia and China were in accord on the outlines of the accord.

"Political decisions are needed from the Iranians. Either they trigger a serious crisis in the coming days, or they accept the agreement which respects the interests of all parties."

Iran's lead nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani responded in a tweet, calling on Western powers "to be realistic, avoid intransigence and heed lessons of past 4yrs. Time for their serious decisions."

"After weeks of intensive talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement; nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, though," he tweeted.

Several other sources tracking the talks said that the next couple of days would be crucial in determining whether there was a way to revive the agreement.

The pact began to unravel in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and reimposed broad economic sanctions on Iran, which prompted Tehran to breach the deal's limits on its uranium enrichment activity a year later.

Diplomats and analysts say the longer Iran remains outside the deal, the more nuclear expertise it will gain, shortening the time it might need to race to build a bomb if it chose to, thereby vitiating the accord's original purpose. Tehran denies it has ever sought to develop nuclear arms.

Western diplomats say they are now in the final phase of the talks and believe that a deal is within reach.

'MOMENT OF TRUTH'

"We are coming to the moment of truth. If we want Iran to respect its (nuclear) nonproliferation commitments and in exchange for the United States to lift sanctions, there has to be something left to do it," Le Drian said.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it was "in a hurry" to strike a new deal as long as its national interests were protected and that restoring the pact required "political decisions by the West".

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/decision-iran-nuclear-deal-days-away-ball-tehrans-court-france-2022-02-16/

>>15646914

>near Linwood

PB

>>15646129 Zimmerman Graphic Snowden

>Zimmerman

Judge tosses Zimmerman’s lawsuit against Trayvon’s parents

February 14, 2022

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida has dismissed a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had filed against the parents of Trayvon Martin, the teen he fatally shot almost a decade ago in a case that drew international attention about race and gun violence.

Judge John Cooper in Tallahassee dismissed all counts against all defendants in the lawsuit filed by Zimmerman against Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin; attorney Ben Crump, who had represented the family; and others.

In his order, the judge wrote that Zimmerman had failed to show “any fraudulent representation” and said any further arguments in the case would be futile.

“There can be no claim for conspiracy to defraud if there is no adequately stated claim for fraud,” Cooper wrote in the order filed more than two weeks ago.

The other defendants in the lawsuit included HarperCollins Publishers, which had published a book Martin’s parents wrote about the case; Brittany Diamond Eugene; and Rachel Jeantel.

According to Zimmerman’s lawsuit, Brittany Diamond Eugene didn’t want to testify that she had been talking to Martin before he was killed. So her half-sister, Rachel Jeantel, pretended that she was talking to the teen before he was fatally shot. Jeantel ended up testifying at Zimmerman’s 2013 trial in Sanford, Florida.

The lawsuit claimed that Trayvon Martin’s parents, along with Crump, participated in the conspiracy in an effort to get charges filed against Zimmerman, have him tried and “destroy his good will and reputation in he community.” Zimmerman also claimed the defendants portrayed him as a racist murderer who racially profiled Martin. Martin was Black. Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

Zimmerman was acquitted during a 2013 trial, which focused attention on race and Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law that allows people to use force without retreating if they feel threatened.

The case was originally filed in 2019 in state court in central Florida’s Polk County, but it was later transferred to state court in Tallahassee to accommodate some of the participants.

https://apnews.com/article/violence-lawsuits-florida-race-and-ethnicity-tallahassee-f565fbbaa675d7eba5fe654a2e0047d1

>>15647164

>ATF is legit

99% serve with distinction, I'm sure.

But the agency itself is hot garbage.

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1494083595689943045