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Maine man sentenced to 27 years in prison in New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square

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Maine man sentenced to 27 years in prison in New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square

A Maine man who admitted trying to kill three police officers with a machete in a terrorist attack near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve 16 months ago was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday in a courtroom packed with officers.

The sentencing of Trevor Bickford in Manhattan federal court came after Judge P. Kevin Castel listened to emotional statements from the three police officers who Bickford attacked about two hours before midnight on Dec. 21, 2022, as the officers screened New Year’s revelers at the sole entrance to an otherwise closed-off Times Square.

MAINE ‘JIHADIST’ PLEADS GUILTY TO NEW YEAR’S EVE 2022 MACHETE ATTACK NEAR TIMES SQUARE

Bickford shouted “Allahu akbar” — the Arabic phrase for “God is great” — before striking the officers in the head with the machete and trying to grab an officer’s gun. One officer suffered a fractured skull.

A machete which was used to wound 3 NY police officers in an attack at Times Square in New York on January 01, 2023.  (NYPD/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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The threat ended when Officer Michael Hanna shot Bickford in the shoulder. At a hospital, Bickford told authorities that he had studied radical Islamic ideology and decided to wage jihad against U.S. officials.

The judge cited the 20-year-old Bickford’s age and history of mental illness as reasons for leniency from federal sentencing guidelines that recommended a life term. Prosecutors had requested a 50-year sentence while the defense recommended a 10-year term.

He also recounted how Bickford’s mother had repeatedly sought help from police and hospitals as she saw her son’s descent into mental illnesses that have been diagnosed to include schizoaffective bipolar disorder and major depression syndrome with symptoms of depression, mania and psychosis, including grandiosity and hallucinations.

The judge said Bickford told mental health professionals 20 days before the New Year’s Eve attack that he had a plan for harming others, intended to act on the plan and wanted to commit a jihadist attack.

“I’m not a medical person, not here to judge the medical people who saw this and met with him, but it’s disturbing to read these records,” Castel said. “If his mother was listened to, her instincts were listened to, if the medical profession could look at things a little differently, this might not have happened.”

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Given a chance to speak, Bickford apologized to the officers he harmed and other witnesses to his crime.

“I understand that I left scars, physical and mental,” he said. “My mental illness took me down a dark path.”

Hanna, the first officer to speak at the sentencing, recalled the attack, saying he had just ducked his head slightly when he “saw a large blade swiping next to my head” and spun around to see Bickford chasing him with a machete that contained a 13-inch blade.

“As he continued to approach, I took my firearm out and discharged one bullet, which immediately struck the defendant. He dropped to the ground,” Hanna said.

The officer said his parents had immigrated from the Middle East two decades ago “to escape this type of thing.”

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Officer Louis Lorio said he could barely remain conscious after a large cut to his scalp required seven stitches that night.

Now, he said, he suffers migraine headaches several days a week and is likely to be forced into retirement after a decade-long police career as he copes with anxiety and depression that cause him to “burst out crying for no reason” or cripple him with waves of sadness. Therapy, though, has helped, he added.

Officer Paul Cozzolino, who had graduated from the police academy only a day before the attack, said some physical pain such as headaches will last forever. He choked up as he said the part he will “cherish forever” was when he went home to his family that night.

Defense attorney Marisa Cabrera said her client, who is “deeply remorseful,” comes from a family with a “strong and proud military background,” including two grandparents who served in the U.S. Navy, a brother currently in the military and a younger brother who plans to join.

Bickford wanted to join the military too before psychological illnesses took over, she said.

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Now, she said, “Bickford has returned to his old self with the aid of medication and treatment.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaylan Lasky, though, urged the judge to ignore Bickford’s “self-serving claims” of rehabilitation, particularly because he could return to his former state of mind if he ever went off his medication.

She said he “should not be given another opportunity to kill Americans” after he “injured, maimed and terrorized innocent New Yorkers.”

The judge ordered that after Bickford gets out of prison, authorities monitor his internet usage and other facets of his existence for the rest of his life.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer

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Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer


A Pennsylvania man was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar, according to reports.

Timothy Grace, 40, was busted on Feb. 21 after carrying his wounded pet budgie named “Blue Skies” in his pocket to Callaghan’s Bar in Greensburg, according to CBS Pittsburgh.

Timothy Grace was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar. WTAE

“The caller’s a bartender. She says there is a white male at the bar with a parakeet,” a dispatcher reported on the police radio transmissions obtained by the outlet.

“The patron was bragging to other people that were inside the bar that he feeds the parakeet marijuana and has it drink beer on a daily basis,” Detective Sergeant Justin Scalzo told the outlet.

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Grace “appeared extremely intoxicated” when police showed up to the bar and found the pet bird in distress, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

“Its leg appeared to be broken,” Scalzo said, according to WTAE. “Its foot was actually facing the wrong direction.”

Grave was initially arrested for public intoxication and now faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and transporting animals in a cruel manner, the outlet said.

The pet bird was brought to PEARL Parrot Rescue in the Pittsburgh area, which rushed him to an emergency care facility.


Exterior of Callaghan's bar, with a sign showing
The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg. WTAE

Blue Skies spent four days in the hospital and was later taken in to be fostered by Teri Grendzinski, the president of PEARL. The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg, CBS reported.

“They realized his leg was broken. He also had some respiratory issues going on,” Grendzinski told the outlet. “He was also very, very skinny.”

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“The leg was broken badly enough there is a chance they’re going to have to amputate the leg if it doesn’t heal correctly,” she added.

If Blue Skies is eventually put up for adoption, he will require specialized care, the outlet said.

“When we got that call, it was horrifying. Why would you do that to a bird?” Grendzinski said.



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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Numbers Midday, Numbers Evening winning numbers for March 5, 2026

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The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 5, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Numbers numbers from March 5 drawing

Midday: 8-6-6-2

Evening: 8-1-9-8

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Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from March 5 drawing

03-08-09-14-30, Extra: 31

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 5 drawing

17-20-23-30-33, Bonus: 05

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
  • Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
  • Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
  • Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Vermont

Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism

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Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism


NEWPORT, Vt. (WCAX) – Friends and family of a Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism rallied in Newport Thursday, saying the charges stem from a mental health crisis and are unwarranted.

Vermont State Police say Joseph “J.J.” Millett, 38, of Newport, called a veterans crisis line in February, making suicidal statements and threatening a mass-casualty event.

Court records say Millett had guns and wrote what investigators call a manifesto. He turned himself in, and state police say they disarmed him at the barracks. He pleaded not guilty and was never formally arrested or placed in jail. He is currently in a treatment facility.

Supporters say the threats were the result of new medication and a mental health crisis. “But all the way to domestic terrorism for a man that fought overseas — he wasn’t a terrorist. He’s been fighting terrorists half his life,” said Chad Abbott, a friend who served with Millett overseas.

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Abbott said he believes the charges could have unintended consequences for veterans seeking help. “These hotlines that they put out for us is to kind of get us the help we need. And now, none of us are going to want to call that,” he said.

Millett’s sister, Courtney Morin, said her brother served in the Vermont Guard for nearly 10 years and has struggled with mental health since returning home. “He suffers from depression, anxiety — he has PTSD. So, he’s actually been seeking help for his mental health for probably as long as he’s been home,” Morin said.

Orleans County State’s Attorney Farzana Leyva said the charge is warranted and that Millett was not calling for help when he contacted the crisis line. “He called the crisis helpline to make the threats. I think we have to be very clear about that. Those were threats. He did not call the crisis helpline for help. He called anonymously,” Leyva said.

She said the evidence — including repeated threats — Millett’s access to guns, and a manifesto justifies the charge and protects the public. “My priority is public safety, which is the highest priority that I have right now,” Leyva said.

Morin said she believes her brother was trying to get help. “I think he was seeking help. I mean, it’s all a trail of him seeking help, being on different meds. You know, we’re not in his head. We don’t know what he’s dealing with. And especially if you’re dealing with it alone,” Morin said.

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Millett continues to receive treatment and is due back in court later this month.



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