w777 slot A Georgia man has been sentenced in connection to the deaths of a couple that traveled hundreds of miles to buy a car and were found dead in 2015. Ronnie Jay Towns pleaded guilty in connection to the deaths of Elrey "Bud" Runion and June Runion, a couple reported missing in 2015. The couple's remains were found in late January of that same year. The Telfair County Sheriff’s Office announced Towns' plea on social media Monday, Nov. 18. “He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “We are thankful to have closure in this case, and our prayers are with both families.” Doctor sentenced: New York City area urologist sentenced to life in prison for sexually abused patients Couple traveled hours to buy vintage car and were never heard from again Elrey Runion, 69, and his wife, 66-year-old June, first went missing in 2015. The Runions were last seen driving their 2003 GMC Envoy. They'd traveled a few hours from Marietta to Telfair County to buy a 1966 Mustang convertible from someone they'd spoken to on Craigslist, according to Reuters. That person turned out to be Towns, who was 28 at the time. The couple's last phone call was to a disposable cell phone Towns owned. That led authorities to interview Towns in connection to their disappearance, Chris Steverson, who was sheriff in 2015, told Reuters at the time. "I don’t think he had a car that was even similar to the one being sought by Mr. Runion," Steverson told Reuters. The outlet reported that it was Towns' own family who helped set up his arrest. Their bodies were found in late January 2015 , and both had been shot in the head, reported the Macon-Telegraph, formerly part of the USA TODAY network. Their bodies had been left among trees off a county road, not far from the pond where their SUV was found. Towns was eventually charged in connection to their deaths. He also faced an armed robbery charge and was accused of giving false statements, the Associated Press reported. Towns initially pleaded not guilty. His first indictment was thrown out because of the way the grand jury was selected, the AP reported. He was indicted again in 2020 but the proceedings were pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The court proceedings may have also been delayed due to prosecutors seeking the death penalty, which requires extra steps. Towns’ defense attorney, Franklin Hogue, previously told USA TODAY they filed a motion to delay the trial as prosecutors sought the death penalty. New evidence after nearly a decade New evidence was announced in relation to the case in April this year, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, or GBI. Someone found a .22 caliber rifle while magnet fishing in Horse Creek, along Old Prison Camp Road in Telfair County. As the person continued fishing on April 16, they found a bag with the Runions’ drivers’ licenses and credit cards, as well as a cell phone. GBI agents and the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office secured multiple search warrants for a home located in the area and found evidence that was submitted to the crime lab for further analysis. Once new evidence was found, his trial was set for August 2024, the GBI reported. Contributing: Joe Kovac Jr., The Macon-Telegraph S aleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com .Confident Bucs gear up for stretch run against lighter season-ending scheduleLorenz scores 20, Wofford downs Kentucky Christian 100-55

A ceasefire deal that could end more than a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group won backing from Israeli leaders Tuesday, raising hopes and renewing difficult questions in a region gripped by conflict. Hezbollah leaders also signaled tentative backing for the U.S.-brokered deal, which offers both sides an off-ramp from hostilities that have driven more than 1.2 million Lebanese and 50,000 Israelis from their homes. An intense bombing campaign by Israel has killed more than 3,700 people, many of them civilians, Lebanese officials say. But while the deal, set to take effect early Wednesday, could significantly calm the tensions that have inflamed the region, it does little directly to resolve the much deadlier war that has raged in Gaza since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people. Hezbollah, which began firing scores of rockets into Israel the following day in support of Hamas, has previously said it would keep fighting until there was a stop to the fighting in Gaza. Here’s what to know about the tentative ceasefire agreement and its potential implications: The agreement reportedly calls for a 60-day halt in fighting that would see Israeli troops retreat to their side of the border while requiring Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the deal is set to take effect at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday (9 p.m. EST Tuesday). Under the deal, thousands of Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers are to deploy to the region south of the Litani River. An international panel lead by the U.S. would monitor compliance by all sides. Biden said the deal “was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL , does not provide “effective enforcement” of the deal. A Hezbollah leader said the group's support for the deal hinged on clarity that Israel would not renew its attacks. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Qatari satellite news network Al Jazeera. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state” of Lebanon, he said. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel’s security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France. After months of cross-border bombings, Israel can claim major victories, including the killing of Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, most of his senior commanders and the destruction of extensive militant infrastructure. A complex attack in September involving the explosion of hundreds of walkie-talkies and pagers used by Hezbollah was widely attributed to Israel, signaling a remarkable penetration of the militant group. The damage inflicted on Hezbollah has come not only in its ranks, but to the reputation it built by fighting Israel to a stalemate in the 2006 war. Still, its fighters managed to put up heavy resistance on the ground, slowing Israel’s advance while continuing to fire scores of rockets, missiles and drones across the border each day. The ceasefire offers relief to both sides, giving Israel’s overstretched army a break and allowing Hezbollah leaders to tout the group’s effectiveness in holding their ground despite Israel’s massive advantage in weaponry. But the group is likely to face a reckoning, with many Lebanese accusing it of tying their country’s fate to Gaza’s at the service of key ally Iran, inflicting great damage on a Lebanese economy that was already in grave condition. Until now, Hezbollah has insisted that it would only halt its attacks on Israel when it agreed to stop fighting in Gaza. Some in the region are likely to view a deal between the Lebanon-based group and Israel as a capitulation. In Gaza, where officials say the war has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, Israel’s attacks have inflicted a heavy toll on Hamas, including the killing of the group’s top leaders. But Hamas fighters continue to hold scores of Israeli hostages, giving the militant group a bargaining chip if indirect ceasefire negotiations resume. Hamas is likely to continue to demand a lasting truce and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in any such deal. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas offered a pointed reminder Tuesday of the intractability of the war, demanding urgent international intervention. “The only way to halt the dangerous escalation we are witnessing in the region, and maintain regional and international stability, security and peace, is to resolve the question of Palestine,” he said in a speech to the U.N. read by his ambassador.Biden proposes new rule for weight-loss drugs to be covered by Medicare, MedicaidNearly 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures. But the deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations, producing an agreement that even its supporters may see as insufficient and disappointing. The process of global climate cooperation will lurch forward from here under the weight of heavier existential questions. Rich countries have pledged to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035, through a wide variety of sources, including public finance as well as bilateral and multilateral deals. The agreement also calls on parties to work toward unleashing a total of $1.3 trillion a year, with most of it expected to come through private financing. Developed and developing countries entered the negotiations far apart on what was necessary yet realistic. At one point on Saturday, the talks even appeared to be on the brink of collapse, before the mood lifted late in the evening following numerous closed-door meetings. “It was hard fought” and the amount of financing “is at the boundary between what is politically achievable today in developed countries and what would make a difference in developing countries,” said Avinash Persaud, special adviser on climate change to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank. Rich nations are grappling with a slew of fiscal and political constraints, including inflation, constrained budgets and rising populism. The election of Donald Trump and his threat to pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris climate agreement also hung over the COP29 summit early on. Under a compromise to get a deal over the line, rich nations eventually agreed to commit $50 billion more than what a draft agreement on Friday called for. They had also made any agreement contingent on reaffirming last year’s COP28 outcome in Dubai that included a vow to transition away from fossil fuels. A separate text calls on parties to “contribute to the global efforts” toward that landmark agreement, without explicitly naming fossil fuels. ‘Too little’ The promised funding, however, falls short of the trillions of dollars poor and vulnerable nations say they need to climate-proof their economies. They also want more of that money to come in the form of grants and other affordable financial support, since market-based loans risk deepening their debt burdens. The deal’s adoption came over the objections of India, whose delegates had raised their hands in an attempt to intervene, and as the gavel fell, walked up to the stage in a failed bid to get attention. Leena Nandan, India’s secretary of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, called the deal inadequate. “The goal is too little, too distant,” she said, her speech punctuated frequently by applause and cheers. Still, for some the result will likely serve as proof the COP process is still the best approach for coordinating global action to meet the escalating challenges of climate change. “COP29 took place in tough circumstances but multilateralism is alive and more necessary than ever,” Laurence Tubiana, chief executive office of European Climate Foundation, an architect of the landmark Paris Agreement. The new agreement will help inform individual country commitments for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 as well as the next round of U.N. climate talks in Brazil. Many developing nations have emphasized the scale of available climate finance is directly tied to how quickly they can build emission-free energy and how ambitious they can be in setting carbon-reducing targets due in February. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will not support a Liberal plan to give Canadians a GST holiday and $250 unless the government expands eligibility for the cheques, saying the rebate leaves out “the most vulnerable.” The Liberals announced a plan last week to cut the federal sales tax on a raft of items like toys and restaurant meals for two months, and to give $250 to more than 18.7 million Canadians in the spring. Speaking after a Canadian Labour Congress event in Ottawa, Singh says he’s open to passing the GST legislation, but the rebate needs to include seniors, students, people who are on disability benefits and those who were not able to work last year. Singh says he initially supported the idea because he thought the rebate cheques would go to anyone who earned under $150,000 last year. But the so-called working Canadians rebate will be sent to those who had an income, leaving out people Singh says need the help. The government intends to include the measures in the fall economic statement, which has not yet been introduced in the House of Commons. The proposed GST holiday would begin in mid-December, lasting for two months. It would remove the GST on prepared foods at grocery stores, some alcoholic drinks, children’s clothes and toys, Christmas trees, restaurant meals, books, video games and physical newspapers. A privilege debate has held up all government business in the House since late September, with the Conservatives pledging to continue a filibuster until the government hands over unredacted documents related to misspending at a green technology fund. The NDP said last week they had agreed to pause the privilege debate in order to pass the legislation to usher in the GST holiday. Singh said Tuesday that unless there are changes to the proposed legislation, he will not support pausing the debate. The Bloc Québécois is also pushing for the rebates to be sent to seniors and retirees.Charlotte Crosby trebles security measures to ‘feel safe’ amid attempted robberyChandigarh: Punjab and Haryana high court has slammed Haryana Agro Industries Corporation for a seven-year delay in releasing the retirement benefits of a deceased employee to his family, calling the act a violation of statutory, constitutional, and fundamental rights. A fine of Rs 1 lakh goes with this, to be paid by the state-govt-linked company initially and recovered from the officer responsible after fixing accountability. In this case that sparks a debate over workers’ rights and govt accountability, the bench led by justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri also directed the corporation to pay 6% annual interest on the delayed payments and release more than Rs 1.6 lakh that the company had withheld wrongfully. The bench observed: “Grant of pension and retiral benefits is not charity but a duty. The corporation’s actions infringe the right to livelihood and life under Article 21 of the Constitution and reflect insensitivity toward its employees and their families.” The ruling comes in response to a plea by Manjit Kaur and her children, who sought redress after the corporation withheld the retirement dues of Surinder Singh Chawla, Manjit’s late husband. Chawla, a mechanic, retired on Apr 30, 2011, but received no benefits due to an unresolved charge sheet alleging a loss of Rs 67,380. Yes, a subsequent inquiry supported the allegations, but the competent authority escalated the penalty, proposing a recovery of Rs 1,60,781 with interest and stoppage of two annual increments. The HC had stayed this recovery previously during Chawla’s lifetime. However, following his death in 2014, the corporation withheld all retirement benefits, releasing them only seven years later while deducting the disputed amount. The court criticised the corporation for failing to release the undisputed portion of the benefits, stating that such conduct deprived the petitioners of their rightful dues. Chawla’s family had sought directions to quash a letter dated July 24, 2017, by which the corporation had withheld his retiral benefits. From these benefits that the petitioners received seven years after Chawla’s death, the company had deducted Rs 1.6 lakh, and when it should have at least released the remaining amount, it withheld the entire sum without justification. We also published the following articles recently Companies boost childcare benefits for employees Indian companies are significantly increasing childcare support, with 90% now offering structured daycare benefits, a five-fold jump since 2017. Driven by the Maternity Benefit Act and a focus on employee well-being, companies are providing creche facilities, subsidies, and extended benefits like near-home daycare. After 35-yr career at big corporates, ex-honcho leads life as retired cop, held for fraud, extortion A 74-year-old man, Anil Katyal, posing as a retired IPS officer, has been apprehended in Ghaziabad. Katyal, with an impressive corporate background, fabricated an elaborate alternate life, even socializing with police officials. He recently attempted to leverage his fake identity to influence a fraud case and even lobbied for an Indian billionaire's release from Dubai custody. US unemployment benefit applications drop to near seven-month low US jobless claims dipped to a near seven-month low of 213,000, defying expectations. However, the total number of Americans receiving benefits rose to a three-year high of 1.91 million, raising concerns about sustained employment challenges. While the Fed recently cut interest rates, positive economic indicators and potential policy shifts suggest a more cautious approach to future rate reductions.

Couple charged in ring suspected of stealing $1 million in Lululemon clothesKANSAS CITY, Mo. — There seemed to be little joy in another last-second win for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes looked stoic after fill-in kicker Spencer Shrader's field goal beat Carolina 30-27. Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and the rest of the Chiefs merely joined him in walking from the sideline to midfield for handshakes, then headed back to the locker room, a scene completely different from the jubilation they exhibited at the end of so many other nail-biters. Might be that they're getting sick of the stress at the end of games; Kansas City has won 12 straight games decided by seven points or fewer, the longest streak in NFL history, and has won five games decided on the final play this season. Then again, it might be that the Chiefs felt as if they should have beaten the Panthers by a much wider margin. They committed 10 penalties for 91 yards. Their secondary struggled against Carolina quarterback Bryce Young, a one-time bust who has started to play better of late. And their offensive tackles were routinely beaten with Mahomes sacked five times. "You always want to have some blowouts. You want to be a little calmer in the fourth quarter," said Mahomes, who had one of his best games despite the protection problems, throwing for 269 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. "It can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season," Mahomes added, "just knowing you've been in those moments before, and knowing how to kind of attack it play by play — not making it too big of a moment. I will say this more than anybody, I would love to win a game not by the very last play." The Chiefs (10-1) nevertheless remained a game ahead of Buffalo in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC heading into Friday's game against the Raiders. But there is no margin for error with the Bills now holding the tiebreaker over them. "It's all about getting better. That's the best thing about playing in the NFL," Mahomes said. "We've got to just go back, learn from (Carolina), and know we have a short week against a hungry football team in the Raiders that's coming to our house." What's working The Chiefs' tight ends have taken advantage of deep shell coverages played by opposing defenses by getting open underneath, especially Noah Gray, who had his second straight two-touchdown day against the Panthers. He finished with four catches for a team-best 66 yards, while Kelce was right behind with six catches for 62 yards. What needs help The Chiefs have had problems at tackle all season. Wanya Morris struggled again on the left side and veteran Jawaan Taylor was not much better on the right, and they're a big reason why Mahomes has been sacked 15 times over the past four games. Stock up Just a few weeks ago, Shrader was on the Jets practice squad, hoping for a chance to kick in another regular-season game. Now, with Harrison Butker on injured reserve, he is making the most of that chance in Kansas City. The undrafted rookie is 3 for 3 on field goals, including that 31-yard game-winner against Carolina, and perfect on six extra-point attempts. Stock down Just about everyone in the Kansas City secondary struggled against Carolina, whether it was cornerbacks Nazeeh Johnson and Chamarri Conner or safeties Bryan Cook and Justin Reid. Young shredded them for 263 yards passing and a touchdown. Injuries The Chiefs could have running back Isiah Pacheco and pass rusher Charles Omenihu back this week. Both have been practicing the past couple of weeks and were close to playing against Carolina. Pacheco is returning from an ankle injury sustained in Week 2 while Omenihu has not played since tearing his ACL in the playoffs last season. Key number 5 — Kansas City improved to 5-0 against the NFC this season, making it 26-6 against the AFC's rival conference since Mahomes became the franchise's regular starter for the 2018 season. Next steps The Chiefs have won seven of their past eight against Las Vegas heading into Friday's game, though they no doubt remember the Raiders' previous trip to Arrowhead Stadium. Las Vegas pulled the upset on Christmas Day last season.Authorities in Pakistan launch operation to clear Khan supporters from capital

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Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size. The S&P 500 fell 66.75 points, or 1.1%, to 5,970.84. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 333.59 points, or 0.8%, to 42,992.21. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 298.33 points, or 1.5%, to 19,722.03. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 2.1%. Microsoft declined 1.7%. Each has a market value above $3 trillion, giving the companies outsized sway on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 1.5% and Best Buy slipped 1.5%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. Energy stocks held up better than the rest of the market, with a loss of less than 0.1% as crude oil prices rose. “There’s just some uncertainty over this relief rally we’ve witnessed since last week,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. The S&P 500 gained nearly 3% over a 3-day stretch before breaking for the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, the index posted a small decline. Despite Friday’s drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024. Even though inflation has come closer to the central bank’s target of 2%, it remains stubbornly above that mark and worries about it heating up again have tempered the forecast for more interest rate cuts. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market’s path ahead and shifting economic policies under incoming President Donald Trump. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Amedisys rose 4.7% after the home health care and hospice services provider agreed to extend the deadline for its sale to UnitedHealth Group. The Justice Department had sued to block the $3.3 billion deal, citing concerns the combination would hinder access to home health and hospice services in the U.S. The move to extend the deadline comes ahead of an expected shift in regulatory policy under Trump. The incoming administration is expected to have a more permissive approach to dealmaking and is less likely to raise antitrust concerns. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. Markets in Europe gained ground. Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62% from 4.59% late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury remained at 4.33% from late Thursday. Wall Street will have more economic updates to look forward to next week, including reports on pending home sales and home prices. There will also be reports on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.