Northeast
NY correctional officers repeatedly struck handcuffed inmate, picked him up by his neck before he died: video
Correctional officers at a New York prison repeatedly punched a handcuffed inmate, hit him with a shoe, lifted him by the neck and dropped him before he later died, newly released video shows.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released body camera footage on Friday of the Dec. 9 assault on Robert Brooks, 43, who died the morning after the incident.
The attorney general’s office is investigating the officers’ use of force that led to Brooks’ death.
Brooks was pronounced dead at a hospital the day after the assault at the Marcy Correctional Facility, a state prison in Oneida County.
NEW YORK GOV. HOCHUL ORDERS PRISON STAFFERS INVOLVED IN INMATE’S DEADLY BEATING TO BE FIRED
Bodycam footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General’s Office via AP)
He had been in prison since 2017 and was serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault. Brooks had arrived at the Marcy Correctional Facility only hours before the assault, after he was transferred from a nearby state prison.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, ordered the firing of more than a dozen employees at the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, including correctional officers and a nurse involved in the attack. The governor said she was “outraged and horrified” by videos of the “senseless killing.”
The footage shows correctional officers repeatedly punching Brooks in the face and groin while he sits handcuffed on a medical examination table.
One officer is seen using a shoe to strike Brooks in the stomach as another lifts him up by his neck and drops him back on the table. The officers then removed Brooks’ shirt and pants as he lay motionless and bloodied from the beating.
“These videos are shocking and disturbing, and I advise all to take appropriate care before choosing to watch them,” James said.
LOUISIANA PRISONS ROUTINELY HOLD INMATES PAST THEIR RELEASE DATE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ARGUES
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
The final results of Brooks’ autopsy remain pending.
Preliminary findings from a medical examination show “concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another.”
The videos do not contain audio because the officers wearing body cameras had not activated them. The corrections department issued a directive following the assault requiring staff to use body cameras in every staff interaction with inmates.
A lawyer for Brooks’ family, Elizabeth Mazur, said the release of the videos means “members of the public can now view for themselves the horrific and extreme nature of the deadly attack on Robert L. Brooks.”
“As viewers can see, Mr. Brooks was fatally, violently beaten by a group of officers whose job was to keep him safe,” Mazur said. “He deserved to live, and everyone else living in Marcy Correctional Facility deserves to know they do not have to live in fear of violence at the hands of prison staff.”
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union for state correctional officers, said in a statement that what was observed in the footage “is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day.”
Robert Brooks, 43, was pronounced dead at a hospital the day after the assault at the Marcy Correctional Facility. (iStock)
“This incident not only endangers our entire membership but undermines the integrity of our profession,” the union said. “We cannot and will not condone this behavior.”
The Correctional Association of New York, a prison oversight group, said it had documented reports of brutality and racism during a monitoring visit two years ago at the Marcy Correctional Facility.
The footage of the assault against Brooks “is sickening and appalling, but not surprising” given the previous findings, the organization’s executive director, Jennifer Scaife, said, adding that the state prison system needs to “address the systemic issues that allow such brutality to flourish.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Pennsylvania
3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say
Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.
According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.
Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.
Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.
“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.
“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.
Rhode Island
RI Lottery Powerball, Numbers Midday winning numbers for March 4, 2026
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing
07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from March 4 drawing
Midday: 2-7-4-4
Evening: 7-6-0-2
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from March 4 drawing
08-11-12-18-24, Extra: 15
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing
12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
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.
Vermont
19 Vermont school budgets fail as education leaders debate need for reform
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Most Vermont school budgets passed Tuesday, but 19 districts and supervisory unions saw their spending plans rejected — an uptick from the nine that failed in 2025, though well below the 29 that failed in 2024.
Some education leaders say the results show communities are largely supportive of their schools.
“We’re starting to kind of equalize out again towards the normal trend of passage of school budgets each year,” said Chelsea Meyers of the Vermont Superintendents Association.
Sue Ceglowski of the Vermont School Boards Association said the results send a clear message. “Vermont taxpayers support Vermont’s public schools,” she said.
Meyers said the results also raise questions about the scope of education reform being considered in Montpelier. “If we are going to reform the system, it might not require sweeping broad changes as are being considered right now, but a more concise approach to consider that inequity,” she said.
But in districts where budgets failed, officials say structural changes are still needed. In Barre, where the budget failed, Barre Unified Union School District Board Chair Michael Boutin said the Legislature must, at a minimum, create a new funding formula. “We have to have that in order to avoid the huge increases and decreases — the huge increases that we’ve seen in the last couple years,” Boutin said.
He said the rise in school budgets is separate from why property owners are seeing sharp tax increases. The average state increase in school budgets is 4%, but the average property tax increase is 10%, driven by cost factors including health care. “There’s a complete disconnect, and that’s a product of the terrible system that we have in Vermont with our funding formula,” Boutin said.
Ceglowski says the state should address health care costs before moving forward with rapid education policy changes. “Addressing the rapid rise in the cost of school employees’ health benefits by ensuring a fair and balanced statewide bargaining process for those benefits,” she said.
The 19 districts that did not pass their budgets will need to draft new spending plans to present to voters, which often requires cuts. Twelve school districts are scheduled to vote at a later date.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Wisconsin3 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Maryland4 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Florida4 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks