March 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration is set to receive a roughly $10 billion fee from investors in the recently completed deal to take control of TikTok's U.S. business, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
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(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Six service members were killed when their refueling aircraft "went down" in friendly airspace in western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.
"All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased. The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury," CENTCOM said Friday.
The KC-135 aircraft went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET on Thursday when two aircraft were involved in "an incident," CENTCOM said in a brief statement, confirming that "one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely."
"The incident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission, and again, was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said during a Defense Department briefing on Friday.
The other aircraft involved was also a KC-135 tanker, according to a U.S. official.
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The circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation and the identities of the service members who died in the incident are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified, officials said.
KC-135 aircraft are not equipped with parachutes and do not have ejection seats, which are primarily in fighter aircraft, officials have told ABC News.
Passengers and crew members of KC-135s instead are trained on how to exit the aircraft when it is on land or on water, officials said.
According to a 2008 Air Force profile of the tanker crews, the move to get rid of parachutes was made because the tankers "seldom have mishaps, and the likelihood a KC-135 crew member would ever need to use a parachute is extremely low."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York state trooper accused of ramming his vehicle into an SUV during a high-speed chase leading to the death of an 11-year-old girl was convicted of manslaughter Friday at his second trial.
Prosecutors say Christopher Baldner, 47, rammed the SUV twice on the New York State Thruway, causing it to lose control and flip over. Eleven-year-old Monica Goods, who was in the SUV, was killed in the December 2020 crash. Baldner's attorneys said the accident occurred after the SUV cut the trooper off as he pulled alongside during the pursuit.
"While nothing can bring Monica back, this verdict is some semblance of justice for her loved ones," state Attorney General Letitia James said in a prepared statement.
The retired trooper, who remained free on bail, faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced June 2.
Ajury acquitted Baldner of murderand reckless endangerment charges in November, but they deadlocked on a second-degree manslaughter charge. Judge Bryan Rounds declared a mistrial and a second trial on the lone remaining charge began last month.
Assistant State Attorney General Jennifer Gashi told jurors during Baldner's latest trial that he chose to "recklessly use his patrol car as a weapon" during the chase north of New York City. Defense attorney Anthony Ricco argued it was the driver of the SUV — Monica's father, Tristin Goods — who acted recklessly and caused her death,according to theDaily Freeman.
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Baldner pulled Tristin Goods over for speeding on the highway near Kingston the night of Dec. 22, 2020. Goods, his wife and two daughters were heading north from New York City to visit family.
Baldner and Goods argued, and the trooper pepper-sprayed the inside the vehicle. Goods drove off and Baldner pursued.
Defense attorneys said Goods collided with Baldner's trooper car twice during the pursuit. An accident reconstruction expert for the defense testified that Goods lost control of the SUV when he overcorrected after "a very minor impact,"the newspaper reported.
Charles W. Murphy, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers, said the union was deeply disappointed by the verdict and that Baldner was "simply following his training when he responded to a rapidly evolving and highly dangerous situation."
"This outcome sends a troubling message to all law enforcement officers who must make split-second decisions to protect the public," Murphy said in a written statement.
Baldner retired in 2022 after almost 20 years with the state police.
