Wednesday, May 24, 2017
11 people seated on jury in Bill Cosby’s sex-assault trial
PITTSBURGH
Bill Cosby’s lawyers accused Pennsylvania prosecutors of trying to systematically keep blacks off the jury Tuesday after prosecutors used their strikes to send two black women home.
Judge Steven O’Neill for now rejected the argument after prosecutors said the second woman was a former Pittsburgh detective who sued the city after she was arrested in a public scandal. They said the case raised doubts about her credibility.
Of the 11 current jurors, one is black. The 100 people summoned to the Allegheny County courthouse for juror consideration so far have included 16 people of color. A new jury pool will be summoned today, when lawyers return to seek the final juror and six alternates.
The actor-comedian once known as America’s Dad for his beloved portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” is charged with drugging and molesting a Temple University women’s basketball team manager at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. He has called the encounter consensual.
Franklin’s cracked gravestone repaired in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA
Repairs are complete on Benjamin Franklin’s damaged gravestone in Philadelphia.
Caretaker John Hopkins says a crack that had developed in the marble slab was pinned and sealed and the granite base fixed to prevent more damage.
The $80,000 repair was paid for largely with grants, a GoFundMe page and with pennies visitors have tossed on the grave for years. The coins are a tribute to the adage, “a penny saved, is a penny earned,” which is often erroneously attributed to Franklin.
Rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his wife donated $5,000 to help fund the repairs.
Astronauts pull off urgent space station repairs
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
Spacewalking astronauts completed urgent repairs at the International Space Station on Tuesday, replacing equipment that failed three days earlier and restoring a backup for a vital data-relay system.
It took commander Peggy Whitson much longer than expected to install the spare unit. Success finally came after her spacewalking partner, Jack Fischer, blasted the area with nitrogen gas to clear away flecks of metal.
Mission Control noted that the failure occurred only 2 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes earlier, “and we are already back in a good position, so excellent work.”
Man sentenced to 6 years in prison for peddling fake cures
CONCORD, N.H.
A dual citizen from Pakistan and the United Kingdom has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for selling drugs that he falsely claimed would cure illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease and emphysema.
Through more than 1,500 websites, 37-year-old Mustafa Hasan Arif generated more than $12.8 million in fraudulent sales to more than 100,000 victims around the world.
According to court documents, the websites claimed his drugs would cure and treat hundreds of diseases, many of which were incurable, and included falsified cure rates, false clinical research and fabricated testimonials.
After he was sentenced Tuesday, acting United States Attorney John J. Farley called Arif’s conduct “reprehensible” and accused him of preying on “vulnerable individuals who were seeking to find cures for illnesses that often had no known cure.”
Associated Press