DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
The plumber who turned in hundreds of envelopes of cash and checks he found in a wall at televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church is getting US$20,000 for his good deed.
The find is believed to be connected to the 2014 theft of about $600,000 from the mega-church, according to the Houston Police Department.
Crime Stoppers of Houston announced Tuesday it would give $20,000 to the plumber, who has only been identified publicly by his first name, Justin.
Lakewood Church had put up the money as part of a $25,000 reward in the case, and then donated it to Crime Stoppers when the statute of limitations expired.
The case had gone unsolved until Justin found about 500 envelopes last month, while fixing a toilet in a public family restroom in the church.
"In 2016, Lakewood Church made a $20,000 charitable donation to Crime Stoppers of Houston to help solve this case and support them for all they do for the community. We are appreciative of the plumber, and we hope he pays the gift forward," the church said in a statement on Tuesday.
Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO Rania Mankarious told CNN the organization does not give rewards for finding stolen property, but the group's executive committee unanimously agreed Justin should have the money from Lakewood Church.
"What we are doing is passing a gift on because he is the rightful holder of that gift, and he's a good Samaritan. He did the right thing," Mankarious said.
Police were called in to investigate on Nov. 10, but news of the discovery did not become public until last Thursday, when Justin called into radio station 100.3 The Bull and told the story.
He called back Monday and shared more details about finding the envelopes.
"They didn't fall out in front of me, but they fell in the wall. Yeah, I could hear the commotion in the wall," Justin told The Morning Bullpen hosts. "I shined my flashlight in there, and you could see statements, some dollar bills, just random stuff in there."
In a statement on Friday, the Houston Police Department said an undisclosed amount of money -- including cash, cheques and money orders -- was inventoried, documented and then left with the church.
The stolen money was insured, and a church spokeswoman said the church has resolved the matter with its insurance company.
Mankarious said Justin was very quiet when she called him to let him know he'd be getting the money.
"He said, 'I can't thank you enough. I mean these are really hard times and I wanted to do the right thing and I did the right thing, but you know these are tough times for everyone and so this money is going to go a really long way,'" she said.
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
A family trip took a frightening turn for Christopher Won when he was diagnosed with flesh-eating disease while in Hong Kong and now, after weeks of treatment overseas, the Vancouver firefighter is back home recovering.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.