Daily Archives: May 27, 2021

Cristhian Bahena Rivera's defense attorneys made their opening statement and began calling witnesses Tuesday afterprosecutors rested their case Mondayafter four days of witnesses and testimony.

Bahena Rivera, 26, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student whose disappearance in July 2018 sparked a massive monthlong manhunt around her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, before her body was found concealed in a cornfield in southeast Poweshiek County.

His attorneys, Chad and Jennifer Frese, elected to defer their opening statement until after the state finished its case. Court records show they have subpoenaed a number of potential witnesses, including Tibbetts' boyfriend, Dalton Jack, and a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair. Throughout the trial, they have consistently hinted that Jack or several other men investigators considered might be the actual perpetrator.

Monday recap: After questioning investigators, state medical examiner, prosecutors rest their case

2:48 p.m.: Judge Joel Yates dismissed the jury for the day. Jurors were instructed toreturn to the courtroom at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

1:20 p.m.: The defense called Dalton Jack, Tibbetts boyfriend at the time she went missing, back to the stand. Defense attorney Chad Frese asked Jack plainly: Were you involved in Tibbetts death?

"I wouldn't harm her or any innocent person," he responded.

Jack said the couplewanted to get married, and that he told her he planned to propose to her during a planned vacation.

Asked about his actions after learning of Tibbetts disappearance, Jack said he tried to reach her repeatedly, but Frese saidphone records show he only called her once after she went missing.

"I don't know why I would only call her once," Jack said.

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Frese asked several questions regarding Jacks fidelity to Tibbetts, most of which were alleged text message and Snapchat conversationsand in-person encounters in 2017 and 2018 that Jack said he did not recall.

Frese also asked Jack whether he had a temper, and whether he told Tibbetts that he had anger issues. As Jack repeatedly said, he did not recall the specific conversations Frese was referencing, the defense attorney handed him phone records to review throughout the questioning.

After a 10-minute recess, Frese asked Jack if he has any memory impairment. Jack said he has had multiple concussions, but no such diagnosis.

In the prosecution's cross-examination, Jack said he turned over his truck for police to search, and denied having any connection with a black Chevy Malibu with chrome features that the defendant drives. He was excused from the courtroomat 2:46 p.m.

From 2019: Cristhian Bahena Rivera's attorneys explain the choice to represent him in Mollie Tibbetts' death

Anna Young, a criminalist with the state's crime lab, answers questions from the witness stand during Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trial on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. Bahena Rivera is on trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.(Photo: Pool / Kelsey Kremer / Des Moines Register)

1p.m.: Anna Young, a crime lab analyst with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation who analyzed items from the defendants truck for fingerprints, said she found latent prints on an ice scraper and a plastic box of fishing tackle butcouldn't identify those on the scraper, and two prints on the tackle box didn't match Bahena Rivera.

Young told prosecutor Scott Brown duringcross-examination that Tibbetts was not in a condition where I was able to get any known prints from her and said her prints had not been collected in any existing system for comparison.

Young said the unknown prints could've been placed weeks or months before. If not disturbed by elements such as weather, a print could remain on an item "indefinitely," she said.

"Is it very possible that Mollie Tibbetts touched those items while she was in the trunk and you just have nothing to compare it to?" Brown asked.

"It's possible," Young said.

11:00 a.m.:Judge Joel D. Yates dismissed the jury for an early lunch break. The trial will resume at 1 p.m.

Iris Monarrez Gamboa answers questions from the witness stand during Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trial on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. Bahena Rivera is on trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.(Photo: Pool / Kelsey Kremer / Des Moines Register)

10:40 a.m.: Iris Monarrez Gamboa, the mother of Bahena Rivers daughter, said she met him at aquinceaera party. The two began dating and eventually moved in together, she said.

"He was a really good father," Gamboa said. "He was responsibleand he would always look after his daughter." The two had an agreement, after ending their relationship, that Bahena Rivera would pay about $500 per month for his daughters care, she said.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Bart Klaver, Gamboa confirmed Bahena Rivera drove a black Chevy Malibu, and said the defendant mentioned his contact with law enforcement prior to his arrest as investigators were searching for Tibbetts.

Alejandra Cervantes Valle, a relative of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, answers questions from the witness stand during Bahena Rivera's trial on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. Bahena Rivera is on trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.(Photo: Pool / Kelsey Kremer / Des Moines Register)

10:05 a.m.: Alejandra Cervantes Valle, the defendants aunt by marriage, testified through a Spanish-speaking interpreter. She said the defendant's parents still live in Mexico, but that he has uncles, including her husband, in Iowa.

She said he is playful and funny around family, but shy and quietaround people he doesn't know. She said he was never violent, never fought in her presence and "all the children loved him."

Cervantes Valle went to the Poweshiek County Sheriffs Office at about 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2018, while Bahena Riverawas being questioned by police. She said she and her brother-in-law were there until 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 21, but were never admitted past the building entrance. She said she called Bahena Riveras phone throughout the night of the interrogation, but he never answered.

They spoke with the police interviewer Pamela Romero in the building entrance for less than five minutes that night, she said, and were never offered a chance to see their nephew.

Dr. Michael Spence, an expert in forensic DNA, answers questions from the witness stand during Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trial on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. Bahena Rivera is on trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.(Photo: Pool / Kelsey Kremer / Des Moines Register)

8:55 a.m.: Dr. Michael Spence, a DNA expert formerly of the Indiana state crime lab, was the first witness called by the defense.He said he has reviewed more than 90 cases in more than 30 states and served as an expert witness in nearly 150 trials. He generally finds issues or questions of interpretation in about 15% of cases, he said.

Spence said the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation followed all procedures correctly to analyze DNA from blood samples, but said its results were "a little bit oversimplified" and that there are places where he disagrees with some of its interpretations.

Talking about blood stains in the fabric trunk liner, where the state found a mixture of DNA including Tibbetts, Spence said there were also additional unidentified DNA contributors that do not match either Tibbetts or Bahena Rivera.

Last week, DCI criminalist Tara Scott similarly testified that many stains found in the trunk or recovered from the cornfield contained DNA from multiple people or were too weak and contaminated to conclusively include or exclude anyone as a match.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Scott Brown, Spence confirmed the blood stain that investigators found on the trunk seal is Tibbetts' DNA. "How it got there, the DNA can't tell you that, only that it's there, and it's a single source," he said. He said it is a "very reasonable, logical assumption" to conclude that Tibbetts was injured while inside the defendants trunk.

Defense attorney Jennifer Frese gives an opening statement while presenting Cristhian Bahena Rivera's case on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. Bahena Rivera is on trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.(Photo: Pool / Kelsey Kremer / Des Moines Register)

8:40 a.m.: Attorney Jennifer Frese began opening statements for the defense Tuesday morning by promising to bring the jurywitnesses who will testify to the defendants life and family, his character as a "yes man," and the police interrogation that the defense claims was excessively long and held while the defendant was exhausted and dozing off during breaks.

"What you will see is there is no dispute my client worked a 12-hour day ... and at the end of that day, he was brought" to the PoweshiekCounty Sheriffs Office, Frese said.

"What the evidence has shown you and what the evidence will show you is there was a systematic confrontation with my client and the confrontation continued until it was put in my client's head, (that) perhaps he blacked out."

More from Monday: Politics complicated investigation into Mollie Tibbetts' death, agent says

Starting Wednesday, prosecutors took a methodical approach to laying out their evidence against Bahena Rivera.

Jurors heard from a Brooklyn woman believed to be the last to see Tibbetts alive, jogging just outside town, and from the local man whose home surveillance video provided what proved to be the crucial break in the case. Investigators recounted how they identified a distinctive black Chevy Malibu circling near Tibbetts' route, and how they identified Bahena Rivera as the driver.

In a lengthy overnight interview, officers testified, Bahena Rivera admitted he saw Tibbetts jogging, found her attractive, and followed her by car and on foot; that she threatened to call police on him; and that he grew angry and fought with her.

Prosecutors could not share evidence from much of the interview after the judge ruled Bahena Rivera had not been properly informed of his legal rights, but they could recount admissions he made after leading police to the field where Tibbetts' remains were found.That included telling officers that he "blacked out" and the next thing he remembered, he was back in his car, and Tibbetts' bloodied body was in his trunk.

Forensics experts testified that blood found in the rubber seal and fabric liner of Bahena Rivera's trunk matched Tibbetts' DNA, and the state medical examiner described at least nine separate stab wounds found on her body, including one to the side of her head that penetrated her skull and another to the neck that left marks on several of her vertebrae.

After the state rested its case Monday, Bahena Rivera's attorneys moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the state had failed to provide any evidence for the necessary premeditation or specific intent to kill needed to sustain a conviction for first-degree murder. Judge Joel Yates rejected the motion, ruling the state had presented sufficient evidence to take the case before the jury.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

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Mollie Tibbetts case recap: 'I wouldn't harm her,' boyfriend testifies in Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trial - Des Moines Register

Researchers try to ID source of ghost fishing nets

[GRUNTING]

- 1, 2--

DREW MCWHIRTER: We're working on a study to source derelict fishing gear back to the fishery that it came from. Really here in the Hawaiian archipelago, we're constantly receiving derelict fishing gear, ghost nets. So the biggest concerns or impacts of derelict fishing gear is bycatch. So continuing to kill fish and other wildlife that get entangled after the gear has been lost.

Also marine mammal entanglement here in Hawaii, such as the Hawaiian Monk seal. And then also, iconic species such as sea turtles get entangled in this stuff. And then additionally, these nets bulldoze over our reefs before they hit shore. So they leave a path of destruction, pulling coral heads out.

- I believe so.

JENNIFER LYNCH: We're going to have a very challenging time in this project trying to identify it back to its source. And if we fail at identifying the gear back to the fishery, that's going to be increased evidence for policymakers to see the importance of gear marking. And potentially bring those kinds of regulations to the front.

RAQUEL CORNIUK: So we only really need a small sample here to really understand how it's constructed. We are trying to look at essentially every single metric that we possibly can. So we look at how it's twisted. Is it twisted versus braided?

We are trying to look at how many strands does it have? Its twine diameter, mesh stretch size. So we are looking at about 70 different metrics. And we break it out into every single component, every single gear type.

We do polymer identification on our instruments. And we are essentially using this information to create a huge database that houses all of this information on all of the different construction types of these gear.

BRIAN FUJIMOTO: Far at sea, blue water fisheries, you see a lot of gill netters from foreign countries. They tend to cut their nets loose when they see the Coast Guard coming. And they just cut them loose and run just across the border.

You'll see more intentional dumping in third world countries. In industrialized nations like Canada and the US, no.

DANIEL PAULY: I think that research on lost gear and ghost fishing is extremely important. These fish that are killed by lost gear are killed for no reason. Not to mention the marine mammal and turtles and other animals that we like.

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Researchers try to ID source of ghost fishing nets - Yahoo News

Its not exactly a new archaeological discovery it was discovered 40 years ago at Moshav Arbel in the Galilee near Tiberias but an ancient amulet bearing the Divine name has been handed over to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

That has given IAA researchers and publicists occasions to theorize on the bronze pendant, which Dr. Eitan Klein, the deputy director of the IAA antiquities theft prevention unit, has dated to the 5th or 6th century C.E. Thats when Byzantine Christians ruled the Land of Israel.

One side of the object bears the figure of a rider on a galloping horse. The riders head is encircled with a halo, and he thrusts a spear down toward a female figure, who is lying on her back. A Greek inscription that reads The One God who Conquers Evil is engraved in a semicircle above her.

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Beneath the horses legs are four Greek letters, which stand for the sacred four-letter Hebrew name of God.

The other side features an eye pierced by arrows and by a forked object. The eye is threatened from below by two lions, a snake, a scorpion, and a bird. On the upper part of the same side is the abbreviated Greek inscription: One God.

Dr. Klein said that the object is one of a number of amulets from that era that were probably produced in the Galilee and Lebanon. This group of amulets is sometimes called Solomons Seal and the rider is depicted overcoming the evil spirit in this case, a female identified with the mythological figure Gello/Gyllou, who threatens women and children and is associated with the evil eye. The eye on the reverse is identifiable as the evil eye, being attacked and vanquished by various means. The amulet was therefore probably used to guard against the evil eye, possibly to protect women and children.

Arbel was a Jewish settlement during the Byzantine period, and it is often mentioned in historical sources from the talmudic period. It had a linen-production industry and many sages visited and taught there.

Although scholars generally identify the wearers of such amulets as Christians or Gnostics, the fact that the amulet was found within a Jewish settlement containing a synagogue in the 5th to 6th centuries C.E. may indicate that even Jews of the period wore amulets of this type for protection against the evil eye and demons, Dr. Klein said.

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Luck of the Jewish? - The Jewish Standard

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In Honor of Black Lives Matter by KaN Landscape Design and Caroline Mardok, one of five plywood-based installations as part of the Plywood Protection Project. All Photos: worthless studios

Across New York Citys five boroughs, five new public art installations are on display, each made from salvaged plywood boards that were used for a much different purpose a year ago.

The sculptural pieces were created as part of New York art nonprofit worthless studios Plywood Protection Project. The initiative sought and repurposed discarded plywood boards that were formerly used to seal and protect New York City storefronts closed due to the pandemic and last summers protests calling for justice and reform regarding systemic racism and police brutality towards Black Americans. worthless studios notes that during peak protest months across the city, prices skyrocketed to above $90 for a single 4 x 8 AC plywood board, and supply rapidly depleted.

Rather than let these valuable materials go to waste following last years events, worthless studios, through the Plywood Protection Project, collected over 200 boards and put out an open call to artists for plywood-based installation proposals. Over 200 applications later, five artists were selected by a jury and were provided studio space, tools, fabrication and installation assistance, a $500 material budget, and a $2,000 artist stipend.

As explained by worthless studios founder Neil Hamamoto in a piece by the New York Times, the projects aim was to create safe, outdoor destinations for New Yorkers during the pandemic while prompting emotionally and politically complex questions around pain, anger, protest, property, and memory.

This month, one sculpture was installed in each of New York Citys five boroughs. In Manhattan, Be Heard by Behin Ha Design Studio will be placed in Thomas Paine Park; In Honor of Black Lives Matter by KaN Landscape Design and Caroline Mardok will be in Poe Park in the Bronx; Miguelito by Michael Zelehoski will go up in McCarren Park in Brooklyn; Open Stage by Tony DiBernardo will lie at the Alice Austen House in Staten Island; and RockIt Black by Tanda Francis will be located in Queensbridge Park in Queens. The installations will remain on view until November 1, 2021.

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Plywood boards used to protect New York establishments are repurposed into captivating sculptures - Archinect

Seal claims he and Heidi Klum have never had teamwork when it comes to co-parenting.

The 58-year-old singer has four children Leni, 17, Henry, 15, Johan, 14, and Lou, 11 with his ex-wife Heidi, and has said that while co-parenting can work wonders when the parents are on the same page, he claims he and Heidi have never been able to work together.

He told Us Weekly magazine: It can be challenging. It requires teamwork. If you are a team, if both parents are a team, then its really easy and thats not a real challenge at all. But you have to be a team. And if youre not a team, then it can all fall to pieces.

And when asked if he had that bond with Heidi, 47, he added: No. I never had that teamwork [with Heidi]. We never had teamwork.

Seal and Heidi split in 2012 and finalised their divorce in 2014.

The pair were at loggerheads last year when Heidi who is now married to Tom Kaulitz claimed Seal was refusing to let her take their children to Germany with her, after she travelled there to film Germanys Next Top Model.

Heidi filed for an emergency court hearing to seek permission to take all four of their children with her, and Seal initially hit back amid fears of his children being exposed to COVID-19.

The former couple eventually reached a custody agreement for Heidi to travel with the children, but Seal was given expanded time with them before and after they went away.

At the time of the court hearing, their eldest daughter Leni also submitted a declaration on behalf of herself and her siblings.

She wrote: "This is hard because I love both of my parents, but I feel like I need to speak up. I understand that my siblings are too young to speak to the judge, so I am happy to speak for all of us.

"My mom needs to film in Germany for a few months and my siblings and I want to go with her.

"So far, my dad is not allowing us to go, though we have tried to tell him our reasons why we want to."

Leni explained going to Europe would be an "amazing opportunity" and would also allow her and her siblings to see their grandparents, while her younger siblings are "really upset" and "frightened" at the thought of being away from their mother for so long.

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Seal: Heidi Klum and I have never had co-parenting teamwork - Inside NoVA

Offered on Craigslist for $8,000 or best offer while a non-running car fetches in the ballpark of $4,000 nowadays, the 1967 model isnt a garage queen by any stretch. Although a little rough around the edges, this Cougar can and will drive to your house to the burbly tune of a dependable small-block motor.

The 289 Windsor displaces 4.7 liters, and when it was new, Mercury offered two options in the guise of a two- or four-barrel carburetor with either 200 or 225 horsepower. A very stout engine that needs little in the way of maintenance to run properly, this particular mill features a four-barrel carb, MDS ignition, an aftermarket intake system, as well as finned valve covers.

Topped by a chrome air cleaner that could use a little bit of elbow grease to be polished to its former glory, the 289 has reportedly clocked 150,000 (241,401 miles). A three-speed transmission channels the suck-squeeze-bang-blow to the rear wheels, which feature BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires.

Garaged in the last four years, the Cougar further boasts newer brakes, steering components, a dual exhaust, aftermarket gauges for the oil and water temperature, aftermarket door panels, and an Alpine head unit with Bluetooth connectivity for calls and your favorite music. Originally finished in Moss Green, the red-painted coupe definitely needs to be prepped and repainted because its faded and oxidized in a few areas. The sunroof needs some attention as well in the guise of a fresh seal and replacement hinges.

Other areas that could be improved are front seats, turn signal stalk, vacuum canisters of the flip-up headlight grills, some gauges, heater ducts, controlling cables, and so forth. Its the kind of work that can easily be done on a small budget, which makes this Cougar a steal at merely $8,000.

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This Manual 1967 Mercury Cougar 289 Is Looking for a New and Caring Owner - autoevolution

In the past year, donning a mask has become second nature to all of us slipping one on before leaving the house is now like slipping on a pair of shoes. New evidence has shown that various Covid-19 strains can spread through aerosols, and as such the Ministry of Health has advised on using masks with good filtration capability. These include reusable cloth masks with at least two layers of fabric (such as the ones distributed by the government with a bacterial filtration efficiency of at least 95 per cent) or disposable surgical masks.

The thing is about the average face covering or surgical mask, though, is that it may not be that effective to protect us from airborne particles and contaminants all around us due to the poor seal. And this is where 3Ms new KN95 disposable respirator, the 3MParticulate Respirator9513 comes in.

The 3M Particulate Respirator 9513 respirator utilises non-woven fibres to enhance the capture of airborne particles. It has four layers a soft inner layer that lies nearest to the face, two layers of electrostatic filters, before it finishes off with an outer layer.

3Ms new KN95 disposable respirator, the 3M Particulate Respirator 9513 is made with four-layer 3D design that filters dust and other particles, while allowing for easy breathing. PHOTO: 3M

The electrostatic filter layers are made from 3Ms proprietary filter media 3M Advanced Electrostatic Media which filters out at least 95 per cent of airborne particulates and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). These include tiny particles in the air, such as dirt, dust, sand, vehicle exhaust particles, and allergens like pollen and mites.

Surgical facial masks are designed to block large-particle droplets in the form of splashes, sprays and splatter that may contain germs. They are effective when it comes to preventing your own saliva and respiratory secretions from reaching others, not so much from protecting you from what may be transmitted through the air in smaller particles, because of its loose fit around the face and the lack of a filter. In other words, surgical masks are better at protecting the people around you (and hence should be worn) than protecting you from what is floating in the air around you.

3Ms KN95 respirator, when worn properly (according to provided instructions), forms a tight seal around the face with no gaps at all. So all the air that reaches your nose and mouth has to be filtered through the respirator, which helps to elevate your protection level when it comes to pollutants.

In other words, a mask is good at keeping things in, while a respirator works to keep things both in and out.

The 3M Particulate Respirator 9513 is designed for comfort, convenience and breathability. It folds flat for easy transport and storage and comes with sidebands, a hook and a noseclip.

In addition, a foam padding across the bridge of the nose makes it comfortable to use and at the same time provide a better seal at the nose bridge area, while the hook holds the sidebands and hence the respirator securely in place behind your head. This means it does not have to hook onto your ears, making it easy to wear even for long hours.

Once the respirator is on the face, with the noseclip moulded to the shape of your nose and the sidebands hooked at the back of your head, cover the respirator with both hands and breathe in quickly. Once there is no air leaking in at the sides of your face, you will know that the tight seal has been achieved. With this, you can go about your day with peace of mind.

Whether you are commuting in heavy traffic, moving through crowded locations, enduring seasonal haze which usually occurs in Singapore from July to September or enjoying the sight of flowers bursting into bloom all around you, the 3M Particulate Respirator 9513 will ensure that you can complete your daily tasks comfortably.

The 3M Particulate Respirator 9513 is available now at the official 3M e-store on Lazada at https://bit.ly/3yiZqCG , as well as selected retails outlets from June 2021. For more information, visit https://www.3m.com.sg/3M/en_SG/personal-health-care-sg/3M-KN95-Respirator/.

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Breathe easier and guard yourself against airborne contaminants with this KN95 respirator mask - The Straits Times

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Behind Guam but ahead of other insular areas - Saipan Tribune