'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
WARNING: This story contains explicit content and may not be suitable for all readers.US-R-Kelly, 1st Writethru
A prosecutor in closing arguments at the sex-trafficking trial of R. Kelly urged jurors on Thursday to make the R&B superstar "pay" for his alleged crimes, while a defense lawyer told them they've been misled by opportunistic accusers about consensual relationships.
"It is now time to hold the defendant responsible for the pain he inflicted on each of his victims," Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes said in concluding her closing in federal court in Brooklyn that spanned two days. "It is now time for the defendant, Robert Kelly, to pay for his crimes. Convict him."
Defense attorney Deveraux Cannick countered by telling the jury that testimony by several accusers was full of lies, and that "the government let them lie."
He added: "Where the fairness to Robert? Where's the integrity of the system?"
The exchange came with trial nearing jury deliberations after testimony from dozens of witnesses since the beginning of the proceedings on Aug. 18. Jurors could get the case as soon as Friday afternoon.
The 54-year-old Kelly, perhaps best known for the 1996 smash hit "I Believe I Can Fly, " has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges accusing him of abusing women, girls and boys for more than two decades. He's also charged with multiple violations of the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport anyone across state lines "for any immoral purpose."
Geddes gave an exhaustive recitation of evidence the government says proves how Kelly, with the help of some loyal members of his entourage, used tactics from "the predator playbook" to sexually exploit his victims.
The tactics included isolating them in hotel rooms or his recording studio, subjecting them to degrading rules like making them call him "Daddy" and shooting video recordings of them having sex with him and others as a means to control them, prosecutors said.
Geddes described one of several graphic homemade videos in evidence -- seen by the jury during testimony, but not by the public. She said it showed Kelly grabbing one of his victims by the hair and forcing her to give another man oral sex. The woman submitted "because her will had been broken," the prosecutor said.
The defense argued that it would make no sense for a celebrity like Kelly to set up a criminal enterprise to entrap victims.
Someone like Kelly "didn't have to recruit women," Cannick said.
He also argued the accusers were never forced to do anything against their will. Instead, his girlfriends stuck around because Kelly spoiled them with free air travel, shopping sprees and fancy dinners -- treatment that belied the predator label, he said.
"He gave them a lavish lifestyle," he said. "That's not what a predator is supposed to do."
Cannick even went as far as comparing Kelly's case to the struggle led by civil rights legend Martin Luther King Jr. for equal protections under the U.S. Constitution.
"And that's all that Robert wants -- to make (the government) true to what it says on paper," he said.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.