Vermont posts 2nd death tied to flooding

PLAINFIELD, Vt. — A second person has died in Vermont in the flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials said Thursday.

John Rice, 73, died when he drove his vehicle through a flooded street Thursday morning in Lyndonville, police Chief Jack Harris said. The floodwaters’ current swept the vehicle off the road and into a hayfield that was submerged under 10 feet of water.

Rice had ignored bystanders’ warnings to turn around, said Lt. Charles Winn of the Vermont State Police. Rice’s body was recovered several hours later after floodwaters receded.Another man, identified as Dylan Kempton, 33, was riding an all-terrain vehicle late Wednesday when it was swept away by floodwaters in Peacham, Vermont State Police said in a statement. His body was recovered Thursday morning.

More than 100 people were rescued by swift-water teams during the worst of the rainfall, which started Wednesday and continued into Thursday, officials said.

In Plainfield, a concrete bridge that collapsed and tumbled downstream was likely responsible for ripping off part of an apartment building with five units, said Michael Billingsley, the town’s emergency management director.

A police cruiser crashed down a 30-foot embankment Wednesday night when the officer tried to avoid a utility pole and power lines blocking the road in Monkton, south of Burlington. The officer was not seriously injured, state police said.

N.Y. judge urged to toss Trump verdict

NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

“Rather than wait for the Supreme Court’s guidance, the prosecutors scoffed with hubris at President Trump’s immunity motions and insisted on rushing to trial,” Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in papers made public Thursday. “Your Honor now has the authority to address these injustices, and the court is duty-bound to do so in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.”

Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, but that’s on hold until Judge Juan Merchan rules on whether to set aside Trump’s felony conviction for falsifying records.

Merchan has said he’ll rule on the defense’s request Sept. 6 and will sentence Trump Sept. 18, “if such is still necessary.” Prosecutors have until July 24 to respond to the defense’s arguments.

Californian arrested in slaying of family

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A California man is in custody after fatally shooting his wife, their 6-year-old son and his parents-in-law, a San Francisco Bay Area police department said Thursday.

A second son, 1, also was shot and is hospitalized in critical condition, Alameda Police Department Chief Nishant Joshi said Thursday at a news conference.

Officers arrived around 9 p.m. Wednesday at an Alameda residence after a neighbor called 911. The suspect’s father-in-law, who was shot, went to the neighbor for help, Joshi said.

The victim made statements to officers before he died, Joshi said.

The other family members were found inside the home, where police recovered multiple firearms and believe the shootings occurred.

Shane Killian was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, said police spokeswoman Sarah Henry.

Police did not release a motive. An investigation is ongoing.

Menendez deliberations to begin Friday

NEW YORK — A New York City jury was told Thursday it will begin deliberating criminal charges against Sen. Bob Menendez at his bribery trial Friday after hearing instructions on the law.

Judge Sidney Stein began after 3 p.m. to read the instructions to jurors.

Prosecutors say Menendez, D-N.J., accepted nearly $150,000 in gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from three New Jersey businessmen from 2018 to 2022 to corruptly abuse his power as a senator to their benefit.

Menendez has pleaded innocent to numerous charges.

“Looking forward to the jury getting the case tomorrow,” he said as he left the Manhattan federal courthouse.

The senator is on trial with two of the businessmen — Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. They too have pleaded innocent. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the others.

Menendez’s wife, Nadine, has pleaded innocent, though her trial has been postponed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery.

During a rebuttal argument Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal said Menendez helped Egyptian officials get sensitive information about the number of Americans and Egyptians who worked at the U.S. embassy in Egypt.

Adam Fee, a Menendez lawyer, told jurors that the information was publicly available and said anything Menendez did was within his responsibilities as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., leaves federal court following the day’s proceedings in his bribery trial in New York on Thursday. (AP/Larry Neumeister)