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National Interest
Former NFL Player Dies Suddenly At Age 40 Former NFL Player Dies Suddenly At Age 40
Former NFL Player Dies Suddenly At Age 40 A former NFL defensive back who once rewrote the record book at Wake Forest has died at age 40. Alphonso Smith Jr., who played for the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions, died Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Florida, multiple reports said. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death to People. TMZ Sports first reported that Smith died by suicide at a housing community in Florida. The outlet cited sources with direct knowledge. Smith had posted a distressing message on Facebook before his death. In it, he wrote about personal struggles, past trauma, and needing help. Smith was…

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by Joe Lombardi
Breaking News
Who Torched This Maryland Church? ATF Offers $5K Reward As Arson Hunt Heats Up Who Torched This Maryland Church? ATF Offers $5K Reward As Arson Hunt Heats Up
Who Torched This Maryland Church? ATF Offers $5K Reward As Arson Hunt Heats Up Someone deliberately set fire to a Maryland church, investigators say. Now, nearly a month later, federal authorities are putting up cash to find whoever did it. The Aug. 5 fire at the Church of the Nazarene on Houston Branch Road in Federalsburg has been ruled arson following an extensive investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials announced on Friday, Sept. 4. ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible. The fir…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Passenger's Racist Outburst Ends With Duct Tape, Zip Ties And Surprise Maryland Stop: Reports Passenger's Racist Outburst Ends With Duct Tape, Zip Ties And Surprise Maryland Stop: Reports
Passenger's Racist Outburst Ends With Duct Tape, Zip Ties And Surprise Maryland Stop: Reports An American Airlines flight was diverted to Maryland after a passenger was reportedly duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat following a violent mid-flight outburst. Flight 618 was headed from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark late Thursday, Sept. 3, when it was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Anne Arundel County because of what the airline called a "disruptive customer." By the time the plane landed, the passenger had reportedly been duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat. TMZ, citing eyewitnesses, reported that the man appeared drunk when he began yelling …

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Déjà Vu: Virginia Cop's Traffic Stop Takes Familiar Turn Just Four Hours Later Déjà Vu: Virginia Cop's Traffic Stop Takes Familiar Turn Just Four Hours Later
Déjà Vu: Virginia Cop's Traffic Stop Takes Familiar Turn Just Four Hours Later Four hours. Two runners. Three guns. One Virginia cop. What started with a traffic stop around noon on Sunday, Aug. 30 turned into the first of two foot chases Officer Ruggiere would find himself in before his shift was four hours old. The first came in the 400 block of Bridgewater Street in Fredericksburg, where Ruggiere stopped a brown Mercury for a traffic violation, police said. As the officer checked the driver's information, a 17-year-old passenger grabbed a black bag from inside the car and made a run for it. Ruggiere took off after him. The chase ended on Fall Hill Avenue, where …

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by Zak Failla
Weather
Latest Labor Day Weekend Outlook: Here's What To Expect Latest Labor Day Weekend Outlook: Here's What To Expect
Latest Labor Day Weekend Outlook: Here's What To Expect A holiday-weekend reset is coming after days of heat, humidity, and powerful thunderstorms. The National Weather Service expects cooler, drier air to settle in through the holiday weekend. Saturday, Sept. 5, should be mostly sunny, with highs around 80 degrees.  Sunday, Sept. 6, will be cooler, with highs generally in the mid-70s. New England will also turn mainly dry and pleasant. An isolated shower cannot be ruled out Saturday, but widespread rain is not expected. Beach conditions could become dangerous on Sunday and Labor Day due to an increased risk of rip currents. The National …

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by Joe Lombardi
Breaking News
Kentucky Man Hauled Hundreds Of Miles To Virginia After Online Trail Leads To Minor: Sheriff Kentucky Man Hauled Hundreds Of Miles To Virginia After Online Trail Leads To Minor: Sheriff
Kentucky Man Hauled Hundreds Of Miles To Virginia After Online Trail Leads To Minor: Sheriff A Kentucky man was taken hundreds of miles from home to face charges in Virginia following a sexual assault investigation involving a minor. Bowling Green resident Cody Chaffin, 29, has been extradited back to the East Coast following a lengthy probe into his interactions online with a minor, according to the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office. In June, detectives received a report of a possible sexual assault involving a minor, and it was later determined that the child had been solicited and exploited online. Most of the contact took place through Tumblr, investigators said. Whi…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Search For Suspect In Virginia Massage Worker Rapes Ends With Police Pursuit, Sheriff Says Search For Suspect In Virginia Massage Worker Rapes Ends With Police Pursuit, Sheriff Says
Search For Suspect In Virginia Massage Worker Rapes Ends With Police Pursuit, Sheriff Says The search ended with a chase. Cesar Mario Torres Juarez, the Virginia man accused in two rapes involving massage workers nearly six months apart, was captured Friday morning, Sept. 4, following a brief vehicle pursuit, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office. The chase began around 7:30 a.m. in Spotsylvania County and ended with the 30-year-old being taken into custody. The arrest came after authorities had been searching for Juarez in connection with attacks reported at massage businesses on the same block of Plank Road. The first was reported on March 12 at a Spotsylvania…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
WATCH: Armed Burglar Scaled Virginia Building To Reach Third-Floor Apartment WATCH: Armed Burglar Scaled Virginia Building To Reach Third-Floor Apartment
Watch: Armed Burglar Scaled Virginia Building To Reach Third-Floor Apartment Recognize him? A man in Northern Virginia did his best Spider-Man impression and scaled a building before brandishing a gun in an apartment, according to police. The Fairfax County Police Department released video on Friday, Sept. 4, of a bold burglar who was caught on camera climbing the side of a Groveton building before a burglary. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, officers were called to an apartment in the 3500 block of Robert E. Lee Place when a victim reported that an unknown man broke in and busted out a firearm. The incident remains under investigation in Fair…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Student Reports Gun At Maryland Elementary School, Sparking Lockdown, Massive Response: Sheriff Student Reports Gun At Maryland Elementary School, Sparking Lockdown, Massive Response: Sheriff
Student Reports Gun At Maryland Elementary School, Sparking Lockdown, Massive Response: Sheriff A report of a gun can change the mood of a school in seconds. That happened Friday morning, Sept. 4, when a student's report of someone apparently carrying a firearm sent a Maryland elementary school into lockdown and brought three law enforcement agencies rushing to the campus. The scare began around 10:30 a.m. at Pinehurst Elementary School in Salisbury, where the student told officials they had seen someone with what appeared to be a gun, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. Classroom doors were secured. Students and staff were told to stay quiet and in place. Outside, de…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Laurel Truck Driver Dies After Freightliner Slams Into Wooden Poles, Trees: Police Laurel Truck Driver Dies After Freightliner Slams Into Wooden Poles, Trees: Police
Laurel Truck Driver Dies After Freightliner Slams Into Wooden Poles, Trees: Police A Maryland truck driver's afternoon route ended in a deadly crash. At approximately 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, Anne Arundel County Police officers were called to Swamp Circle Road near Muddy Creek Road in West River, where a commercial truck had crashed. Investigators say 34-year-old Laurel resident Keith Whitley Haines was driving a 1999 Freightliner FL70 north on Swamp Circle Road when he failed to negotiate a curve. The truck went completely off the right side of the road and struck several wooden poles, police said. It didn't stop there. The Freightliner then traveled back acros…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Ex-Penn State Coach, Convicted Child Sex Offender Jerry Sandusky Drops Key Claim Before Hearing Ex-Penn State Coach, Convicted Child Sex Offender Jerry Sandusky Drops Key Claim Before Hearing
Ex-Penn State Coach, Convicted Child Sex Offender Jerry Sandusky Drops Key Claim Before Hearing Convicted child sex offender and former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky spent nearly a year fighting for a hearing on a purported victim recantation. Five days before it was set to begin, he abruptly dropped the claim — and prosecutors say they had amassed evidence ready to rebut it. Now, the 82-year-old will have to answer to a judge about that decision. Senior Judge Maureen A. Skerda ruled after a status conference on Friday, Sept. 4, that Sandusky may appear remotely at a 9:30 a.m. proceeding Tuesday, Sept. 8, for a colloquy to determine whether he understands his withdrawal. At…

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by Jillian Pikora
Breaking News
Trump Weighs In On Lindsay Clancy Mistrial Trump Weighs In On Lindsay Clancy Mistrial
Trump Weighs In On Lindsay Clancy Mistrial President Donald Trump is weighing in on the Lindsay Clancy murder case after a Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial. In a press conference from the Oval Office, Trump told reporters: "I assume there’s going to be another trial. It’s a terrible situation. Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing. Can’t be worse. “But you’ll find out what the price to pay is. There’ll be a price. It’s going to be a mental institution or jail or something. But I guess they’re going to go through another trial. It’s too bad." On Friday, Sept. 4, as deliberations entered the seventh day, the jury informed …

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by Cecilia Levine