Texas measles cases rise to 146 in an outbreak that led to a child’s death

DALLAS (AP) — The number of people with measles in Texas increased to 146 in an outbreak that led this week to the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child, health officials said Friday. The number of cases — Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years — increased by 22 since Tuesday. The Texas Department of State Health Services said cases span over nine counties in Texas, including almost 100 in Gaines County, and 20 patients have been hospitalized. The child who died Tuesday night in the outbreak is the first U.S. death from the highly contagious but preventable respiratory disease since 2015, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

No charges for deputy in fatal traffic stop shooting of Indiana man pardoned by Trump

RENSSELAER, Ind. (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy in northwestern Indiana will not face charges in the fatal shooting during a traffic stop of a man who days earlier had been pardoned by President Donald Trump for a misdemeanor related to the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. The Clinton County prosecutor’s office says the Jasper County deputy was “legally justified in using deadly force to defend himself” in the Jan. 26 killing of Matthew Huttle. The 42-year-old Huttle was stopped for speeding. Prosecutors said Huttle and the deputy struggled. The deputy fired multiple shots after seeing Huttle raise a firearm while stating “I’m shooting myself.” In 2023, Huttle was sentenced to six months in custody after pleading guilty to entering a restricted building, the U.S. Capitol.

Jury finds Illinois landlord guilty of murder, hate crime in attack on Palestinian American boy

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A jury has found a 73-year-old Illinois landlord guilty in a hate crime attack that left a Palestinian American boy dead and injured his mother. Joseph Czuba faced murder, attempted murder and hate crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in October 2023. Authorities allege that Czuba targeted them because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas. He had pleaded not guilty. The family was renting rooms from Czuba at a suburban Chicago house. Shaheen testified at the trial that he attacked her with a knife before killing her 6-year-old son in another room. Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero pleads not guilty in killing of US federal agent

NEW YORK (AP) — A Mexican drug lord who was one of U.S. authorities’ most wanted men has been brought into a New York courtroom to answer charges that include orchestrating the 1985 killing of a U.S. federal agent. Rafael Caro Quintero pleaded not guilty Friday to trafficking charges. Separately, so did Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the leader of another cartel. He’s accused of arranging kidnappings and killings of rivals in Mexico but not accused of involvement in the death of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Carrillo Fuentes and Caro Quintero were among 29 Mexican prisoners who were sent Thursday to eight U.S. cities.