Month: February 2025

A$AP Rocky was found not guilty by a California jury of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, stemming from a 2021 shooting incident with a former friend in Hollywood. The 36-year-old — legal name Rakim Athelston Mayers — faced more than 24 years in prison if he had been convicted.

Mayers was charged with two counts of felony assault on Aug. 15, 2022, after he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. The case centered on a 2021 shooting involving Rocky and a friend from high school, who goes by A$AP Relli. Attorneys for Rocky, the longtime partner of Rihanna, had argued the weapon was a prop gun that only fired blanks, which he obtained from a music video set and carried for security.

Their mutual friend and fellow crew member, A$AP Twelvyy, testified during the trial that Relli was the aggressor and Rocky fired the gun as a warning. Twelvyy also testified that Rocky had been carrying a starter pistol for protection for months and the gun fired blanks. Investigators found no weapons or ammunition on scene.

A$AP Rocky did not testify in the trial; after the verdict was announced, he expressed his appreciation to the jury, saying, “Thank y’all for saving my life.”

Prior to the trial, Rocky turned down a prosecution offer of just six months in jail, along with probation and other conditions, if he would plead guilty to one count.

Editorial credit: Fred Duval / Shutterstock.com

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has developed bilateral pneumonia. The updated diagnosis means that pneumonia is in both of his lungs; the 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to hospital for a respiratory tract infection on Feb. 14 after two weeks of what Francis repeatedly referred to as bronchitis.

On Feb. 17, a Vatican press release said that test results revealed a “polymicrobial infection” and that due to the “complex” clinical situation, he would require further hospitalization.  The updated Vatican statement released at 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening (Feb. 18) revealed that “laboratory tests and chest X-rays continue to reveal a complex medical picture. The chest CT scan that the Holy Father underwent this afternoon … demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy.” The statement noted that the 88-year-old pontiff is in good spirits, and that he received the Eucharist earlier in the day.

Officials have confirmed that at least 18 people were injured Monday after a Delta Air Lines plane overturned upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. There were no fatalities. Toronto Pearson CEO Deborah Flint said that of those injured, none were in critical condition. As of Tuesday morning, 19 of those hospitalized had been released, according to Delta Airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that Delta Air Lines Flight 4819, which was operated by Endeavor Air and was arriving from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, crashed on landing in Toronto around 2:15 p.m. Delta said that Endeavor is a “wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines headquartered in Minneapolis.” Eighty people were on the plane, a CRJ-900, the FAA said – 76 passengers and four crew members were on board.

New video footage shared on Tuesday captures the moment Delta Flight 4819 caught fire and rolled over upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport Monday afternoon. The shows the plane reach the ground, erupt in flames, bounce on the runway and then overturn. (per ABC News.). John Nelson, who recorded the video, is heard saying: “We just landed. Our plane crashed. It’s upside down,” as he walked away from the plane. He said that “most people appear to be OK” and that passengers were getting off of the plane. The aircraft came to a stop upside-down on the snow covered Toronto runway.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement: “Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved. We’ll do everything we can to support them and their families in the days ahead, and I know the hearts, thoughts and prayers of the entire Delta community are with them. We are grateful for all the first responders and medical teams who have been caring for them.”

Another passenger aboard the Delta flight, Pete Koukov, recalled how within seconds of the wheels touching down, his body was turned fully sideways and he and other passengers were left dangling by their seat belts. Koukov said on the “TODAY” show Tuesday morning: “I didn’t really notice anything wrong until the moment we hit the ground. The wheels touched down … I was in the window seat on the lookers left side, and then all of a sudden, I just remember being fully sideways. I was looking down and just seeing like sparks and flames and whatever was grinding against the ground. It happened pretty dang quick and we were just upside down, hanging from our seat belts Obviously we ended up upside down, and everyone was wearing their seat belts as they should have been, including myself .. I remember just hanging there and me and the lady next to me, we got out pretty quick. We were kind of able to just like, unclip, like you would, and then just kind of lower ourselves to be on the ground, which was the roof, I guess. We did it really quickly, like, within stopping we both immediately kind of got our bearings, unclipped, got down.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation. Investigators from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are assisting.

Editorial credit: Elena Berd / Shutterstock.com