Latest news with #Loughran
Belfast Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Cliftonville Ladies late show leaves Lisburn Rangers stunned and rescues Women's Challenge Cup defence
A repeat of the 2024 Final, which the Reds won 5-0, had all the entertainment worthy of a showpiece, with Rangers staging a fightback that looked like taking them into the Quarter-Finals before the thrilling finale that sent Cliftonville through with a 3-2 win. Fi Morgan had put Cliftonville into the lead with a bullet header from a right-wing delivery after only 17 minutes and they were playing with a confidence that reflected their status as holders. Rangers' turnaround came thanks to two Faye Loughran goals 10 minutes apart. She was quickest to react when Sophie Kelly-Bradley's free-kick was palmed away by Reds goalkeeper Rachael Norney and headed home from close range on 33 minutes. Cliftonville were inches away from regaining the lead when Marissa Callaghan created space to shoot inside the box and watched agonisingly as the ball came back off the base of the left-hand post. That was to prove an even more painful miss minutes later when Loughran met Caiomhe Gelston Mulholland's free-kick to give her team the lead. With Loughran peerless at the back, goalkeeper Maddy Bell impressive and belief flowing through the rest of the team, Lisburn Rangers were gradually edging towards victory until their hearts were broken by two goals in the final three minutes. Caitlin McGuinness hit a goal that looked to have sent the game into extra-time with a shot that squirmed under Bell and over the line, but there was more to come. With little more than a minute to go, a corner was sent to the back post and Morgan broke clear of her marker to head home the winner. Mia Moore, Aimee Kerr and Rachel Rogan scored twice each as Glentoran Women eased past Greenisland Women 8-0. Sophie McKnight and Caitlin Carlisle, on her first-team debut, got the other goals for the 2023 winners. In the night's other tie, Ballyclare Comrades Ladies defeated Carrick Rangers Falcons 3-0.
Motor 1
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
‘How Bad Is This?' Woman Hears a Clink While She's Driving. Then She Pulls Over and IDs the Real Source of the Problem
A woman put the internet in absolute shock when she revealed her brake pad situation. In a viral video, Haley Loughran (@haleyloughran) asks on a scale of 1-10, how bad her brake pad situation is. Spoiler alert, it's bad, real bad. The TikTok has more than 306,200 views as of this writing. How Bad Is the Problem? In her post, Loughran admits to having a big problem with her brake pads. 'I've been saying all week, 'My brake pads need to be changed,'' Loughran shares. Knowing this information, she continued to commute around town as if nothing was wrong. That is, until she went to back out of a parking spot and noticed her car was jerky. The situation triggered her fear that her parking brakes had stopped working. All of a sudden, she heard a clunk sound coming from outside her vehicle. Loughran says she finally got the car to stop and went to inspect what happened. She shows that the brake pad completely fell off the car as she holds it in her hand. She asks how bad the situation is as she holds her brake pad. The brake pad appears extremely thin and worn down. There is visible wear and tear, and the fact that Loughran is casually holding it is bad news. Viewers agree. 'I was not expecting the brake pad to be in the room with us,' one shared. 'You went from needing brake pads to brake pads, rotors and possibly new calipers,' a second said. 'Your brake pad has literally walked off the job. That's how bad it is,' a third wrote. 'Hubs says it's 10 bad…' a fourth consulted. The show and tell of the brake pad is enough evidence to demonstrate that something is definitely wrong. 'Like, that's not supposed to happen, I don't think. Like, brake pads aren't just supposed to fall off,' Loughran concludes. How Thick Should Your Brake Pads Be? 'Brake pads are also not supposed to be this thin,' one viewer commented. Brake pads are typically flat, rectangular pieces of material with a metal backing plate, according to Click Mechanic . For determining the health of a brake pad, thickness is observed, Allstate mentions. New brake pads will measure 10-12 mm thick when first bought, according to AutoZone . The pad material will wear down the more the brakes are used. Replacement is recommended when the pads are 3 mm thick. If brake pads are less than 3 mm thick, it becomes unsafe to drive, and they should be replaced right away. Brakes To Go reports brake pads should be checked every six months or every 15,000 miles. When Should You Change Out Your Brake Pads? Ignoring minor issues with your brakes can turn into major, costly replacements. Considering brakes play a major role in road safety, maintaining them should be at the top of the to-do list. Kelley Blue Book (KBB) reports that brake pads typically last 25,000-50,000 miles, depending on where you drive, your driving style, and other factors. Any sign of worn-down brake pads needs to be addressed immediately. Here are a few signs that your brake pads may need to be replaced: A loud squeaking or grinding sound An indicator light comes on The brake pedal vibrates The car takes longer to stop The first thing to notice is sound. If your brakes make either a squeaking or grinding sound, something is wrong. Brake pads are designed to make a noise as an early warning signal that they need to be changed, says J.D. Power . The squeaking sound will be initiated by the wear indicator on the brakes. This indicator is designed to grind against the rotor when the brake pads start to wear out, leading to the noise. If you hear a loud grinding sound like metal rubbing together, well, that's what is happening. KBB reports that some cars have metal indicators that cause this grinding sound to inform the driver that the brakes are worn down. Neither of these sounds will go away, so it's best to address them immediately. Second, some cars have an indicator light on the dashboard that will signal when it's time to replace the brake pads, according to Bridgestone Tire . To find out if your car does, check the owner's manual or find the symbols listed here . The third thing to watch out for is whether the brake pedal vibrates when braking. Many factors can cause this, but it is typically caused by uneven brake pad wear or overheating, causing the adhesion to spread unevenly on the rotors, KBB shares. When this happens, the reason is less important compared to getting it inspected and replaced as soon as possible. The last thing to notice is if your car is taking longer than usual to stop. This one will be more subtle. When stepping on the brake pedal, if it takes longer than usual to come to a complete stop, that is a problem. This extended hold on the brakes can cause more excessive damage to the rotors. Additionally, if the pedal "sinks" toward the floor, this could be an indication of a leak in the braking system, J.D. Power shares. If any of these issues come up, it's wise to get an expert's opinion. Don't drive the brakes off the car like what happened in this viral post. Motor1 has contacted @haleyloughran via TikTok direct message. Now Trending 'Big Facts:' Chevy Driver Says Oil Changes Every 3,000 Miles Are Why He Hit 200,000 Miles. Should You Ignore Dealers' Advice? 'I Would Have Just Cried and Waited for Everyone to Leave:' Woman Tries to Park Ford Expedition at the Airport. It Backfires Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Karen Read murder trial: Defense lawyers rest their case
Lawyers for Karen Read rested their case Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they began mounting a defense that sought to undermine allegations that she drunkenly backed her SUV into her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, and left him for dead three years ago. The case, which prompted intense media coverage and allegations of law enforcement misconduct that led to the firing of the case's lead investigator, could be with the jury in Dedham, Massachusetts, by the end of the week. Read's sensational first trial ended nearly one year ago with a jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict on charges of second-degree murder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O'Keefe. The defense did not call key figures central to the theory it laid out in those initial proceedings — that Read was the victim of a biased police investigation and a plot that sought to frame her for the killing — and opted instead for a series of experts whose testimony sought to dismantle the prosecution's evidence. What to know about Karen Read's murder retrial in the death of her police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe Three things to know about the prosecution's case Defense team goes after cellphone data and a key witness prosecutors are relying on As retrial zeroed in on a possible murder weapon, an expert's credibility was challenged Family of Read's boyfriend says she put them 'through hell' but they're ready for second trial Messy investigation exposes problems with police work that public rarely sees, experts say Read's defense in the first trial How to watch the 'Dateline' episode 'The Night of the Nor'easter' Among them were three crash reconstruction specialists and two pathologists. Also called to the witness stand was a snowplow driver who offered what was perhaps the defense's most direct challenge to the case Norfolk County special prosecutor Hank Brennan had presented. Blizzardlike conditions descended on the Boston area on Jan. 29, and the driver, Brian Loughran, testified that before the snow grew heavy, he made multiple passes on the residential street in Canton where O'Keefe was found unresponsive. O'Keefe was discovered near a flagpole in the front yard of a now-retired Boston police sergeant, Brian Albert, shortly after 6 a.m. — a little over three hours after, Loughran said, he first passed the home in his plow, nicknamed 'Frankentruck' for what he described as its mismatch of parts. Loughran said he knew the Albert family — he used to deliver pizzas for Brian Albert's brother — and he testified that he could clearly see from his truck to Albert's front door. 'What was on the ground in the area of the flagpole?' defense attorney David Yanetti asked. 'Nothing,' Loughran responded. 'Did you see a 6-foot-1, 216-pound man lying on that lawn?' Yanetti asked. 'No,' Loughran said. After a night of drinking, O'Keefe was supposed to have gone to a gathering at Albert's home early Jan. 29. Brennan has said he never made it inside. Although prosecutors presented no direct evidence of the collision that they said mortally wounded O'Keefe, vehicle data presented at trial showed Read suddenly reversing her Lexus at 12:32 a.m. at 24 mph in front of Albert's home. An accident reconstruction expert called by Brennan testified that dozens of abrasions found on O'Keefe's right arm were consistent with injuries caused by the broken right taillight on Read's SUV. Read has said she dropped O'Keefe off outside Albert's home and watched him enter. Her lawyers have said he was most likely beaten at the gathering — perhaps because she had recently flirted with, then ghosted, a federal agent who was also at the event — before O'Keefe was bitten by Albert's German shepherd, dragged outside and left in the snow. (Albert and the agent, Brian Higgins, have denied playing roles in O'Keefe's death.) One of the defense witnesses, a former emergency room doctor and forensic pathologist who said she had seen hundreds of dog bites in her career, testified that the dozens of abrasions on O'Keefe's arm were not from a broken taillight but from a dog. The defense's final witness, a biomedical engineer who examined whether O'Keefe's injuries were the result of a collision, testified Wednesday that they were not. Experiments conducted for the case using crash test dummies showed that at speeds of 24 mph, there most likely would have been more damage to Read's car and to O'Keefe's arm, said the engineer, Andrew Rentschler. Absent from the witness stand were three people whose testimony played an outsized role in the first trial: Albert, Higgins and former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor, who was fired after an internal investigation found that he sent derogatory texts about Read and shared confidential investigative details with non-law enforcement personnel, acknowledged during the first trial that he said 'unprofessional' things about Read. But he rejected the defense's claims that he led a biased investigation. The defense mentioned Proctor repeatedly during Read's retrial, with defense attorney Alan Jackson at one point asking his supervisor whether his conduct tainted their examination of O'Keefe's death. 'The investigation was done with honor and integrity, and the evidence pointed in one direction,' State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik responded. This article was originally published on
NBC News
11-06-2025
- NBC News
Karen Read murder trial: Defense lawyers rest their case
Lawyers for Karen Read rested their case Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they began mounting a defense that sought to undermine allegations that she drunkenly backed her SUV into her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, and left him for dead three years ago. The case, which prompted intense media coverage and allegations of law enforcement misconduct that led to the firing of the case's lead investigator, could be with the jury by the end of the week. The development comes nearly one year after Read's sensational first trial ended with a jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict on charges of second-degree murder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O'Keefe. The defense did not call key figures central to the theory they laid out in those initial proceedings — that Read was the victim of a biased police investigation and a plot that sought to frame her for the killing — and opted instead for a series of experts whose testimony sought to dismantle the prosecution's evidence. Among them were three crash reconstruction specialists and two pathologists. Also called to the witness stand was a snow plow driver who offered what was perhaps the defense's most direct challenge to the case that Norfolk County special prosecutor Hank Brennan had presented. Blizzard-like conditions descended on the Boston area on Jan. 29, and the driver, Brian Loughran, testified that before the snow grew heavy he made multiple passes on the residential street in Canton where O'Keefe was found unresponsive. The officer was discovered near a flagpole in the front yard of a now-retired Boston police sergeant, Brian Albert, shortly after 6 a.m. — a little over three hours after Loughran said he first passed the home in his plow, nicknamed 'Frankentruck' for what Loughran described as its mismatch of parts. Loughran said he knew the Albert family — he used to deliver pizzas for Brian Albert's brother — and he testified that he could clearly see from his truck to Albert's front door. 'What was on the ground in the area of the flagpole?' asked defense attorney David Yanetti. 'Nothing,' Loughran responded. 'Did you see a six-foot-one, 216-pound man lying on that lawn,' Yanetti said. 'No,' Loughran said. After a night of drinking, O'Keefe was supposed to have gone to a gathering at Albert's home in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. Brennan has said he never made it inside. Although prosecutors presented no direct evidence of the collision that they said left O'Keefe mortally wounded, vehicle data presented at trial showed Read suddenly reversing her Lexus at 12:32 a.m. at 24 mph in front of Albert's home. An accident reconstruction expert called by Brennan testified that dozens of abrasions found on O'Keefe's right arm were consistent with injuries caused by the broken right tail light on Read's SUV. Read has said she dropped O'Keefe off outside Albert's home and watched him enter. Her lawyers have said he was likely beaten while at the gathering — perhaps because she had recently flirted with, then ghosted, a federal agent who was also at the event — before O'Keefe was bitten by Albert's German shepherd, dragged outside and left in the snow. (Albert and the agent, Brian Higgins, have denied playing a role in O'Keefe's death.) One of the defense witnesses, a former emergency room doctor and forensic pathologist who said she had seen hundreds of dog bites in her career, testified that the dozens of abrasions found on O'Keefe's arm were not from a broken tail light but a dog. The defense's final witness, a biomedical engineer who examined whether O'Keefe's injuries were the result of a collision, testified Wednesday that they were not. Experiments conducted for the case using crash test dummies showed that at speeds of 24 mph, there likely would have been more damage to Read's car and to O'Keefe's arm, said the engineer, Andrew Rentschler. Absent from the witness stand were three people whose testimony played an outsized role in the first trial: Albert, Higgins and former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor, who was fired after an internal investigation found that he sent derogatory texts about Read and shared confidential investigative details with non-law enforcement personnel, acknowledged during the first trial that he said 'unprofessional' things about Read. But he rejected the defense's claims that he led a biased investigation. The defense mentioned Proctor repeatedly during Read's retrial, with defense attorney Alan Jackson at one point asking the former trooper's supervisor if his conduct tainted their examination of O'Keefe's death. 'The investigation was done with honor and integrity and the evidence pointed in one direction,' Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik responded.
New York Post
05-06-2025
- New York Post
Karen Read defense gets boost as plow driver testifies he saw no body in snow during Boston cop death case
Karen Read's lucky charm may be a plow driver who saw nothing during multiple passes by the address where she is accused of leaving her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, to die on the ground in a blizzard in January 2022. Brian 'Lucky' Loughran testified Wednesday that he didn't see a body on the lawn as he cleared snow on the street in the hours after prosecutors allege the victim stopped moving. Advertisement According to prosecution experts, O'Keefe's last known activity came to a stop around 12:30 a.m., and his body allegedly did not move until first responders arrived around 6 a.m. 'I saw nothing,' Loughran told defense attorney David Yannetti, speaking of his first pass around 2:45 a.m. He cleared that side of the block, turned around at the end and saw nothing again when he went back the other way. He testified that he passed by 34 Fairview Road, the home of Brian Albert where John O'Keefe was found dead in the snow, in both directions multiple times between 2:40 a.m. and around 6 a.m. Advertisement Prosecutors allege Read hit her boyfriend outside and drove off, leaving him to die in blizzard conditions. Loughran said he had good visibility despite the blizzard conditions due to multiple lights on the plow truck and a high seat. 6 Brian Loughran testified that he didn't see John O'Keefe's body on the lawn. AP When asked if he saw a body in the snow, he said he did not, but he added that he did see a Ford Edge SUV parked outside the address during a later pass around 3:30 a.m. Advertisement 'Loughran's adamance that there was nobody on the lawn after 2:30 a.m., one day after an active-duty officer was adamant that the taillight he saw before the [Massachusetts State Police] had it was not destroyed, are major blows to a prosecution case that already has had severe problems,' said Mark Bederow, a New York City defense attorney closely following the case. Loughran said the Ford Edge stood out to him because he was from the area and knew the Albert family, and he said he had to maneuver around the vehicle as he cleared the road. 'For as long as I can remember, they have never parked a vehicle in front of their house,' Loughran testified. 'They've always had enough ample parking in the driveway.' Special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Loughran during cross-examination about purported threats from an online blogger and inconsistencies in his timeline. Advertisement 6 Prosecutors claim Read hit her boyfriend with a car in blizzard conditions and drove off. AP Loughran said he never felt threatened by the blogger and denied having a bad memory when Brennan confronted him with multiple statements that offered different times for when the driver passed by Fairview Road. 'Mr. Loughran was adamant that he was not intimidated or threatened in exchange for his testimony, which substantially favored Karen Read,' said Bederow, who represents Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as 'Turtleboy.' Loughran now follows the blog but said he had met with a private investigator working for the defense before Kearney ever contacted him, but he added that he barely paid attention to the posts beforehand. 'I did not know I was being required to testify a certain way,' he said. 'I was also, at the time, dealing with the loss of my wife. I was not paying any attention to any social media.' Overall, he came off as sincere and sympathetic, according to Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is following the case. 6 Loughran drove past the address multiple times during the blizzard. AP 'Lucky said, 'I was doing my job and I did not want the attention, I did not welcome the attention,'' she told Fox News Digital. 'I'm sure some people in the courtroom wanted to give him a hug after he said, 'I wasn't paying attention to social media because my wife had died.'' Advertisement Brennan played police dashcam video taken outside 34 Fairview Road that showed heavy snowfall and the distance between the house there and Cedarcrest Road, where a plow truck drove by multiple times in the background, in an attempt to illustrate for the jurors how far the nearest pass would have been from the lawn. Loughran agreed that some of the passes were him in the plow dubbed 'Frankentruck,' but he said he couldn't be sure at other moments. 'Overall, great day for the defense,' Edwards said. 'I didn't think there was any big moment today, and Brennan didn't even cross Ms. Kolokithas.' 6 Loughran said he had good visibility during the storm due to multiple lights on the plow truck and a high seat. AP Advertisement After Loughran's testimony, the defense called Karina Kolokithas, a friend of both O'Keefe and Read who saw them at the Waterfall Bar and Grille the night before his death. 'One important piece of evidence from Ms. Kolokithas was that she did not perceive Karen Read to be so intoxicated,' Edwards said. Kolokithas, who said she only drank water that night, testified that she spent nearly an hour talking with the defendant and did not feel that she seemed too drunk to drive. Kolokithas also testified that it seemed strange when Jennifer McCabe, a key witness in the case, pulled Read aside at the end of the night. Advertisement 6 Read spoke with her parents during a break in the court proceedings in Tuesday. AP 'Jen went over to Karen, kind of put her arm around her, and she's like, 'Karen, you're coming with me. You're coming with me,'' Kolokithas testified. 'And Karen's like, 'What? Where are we going?'' That, combined with surveillance video from the bar, illustrates part of the defense's effort to sow reasonable doubt. 'The defense is trying to develop possibilities, and they were trying to get the possibility that something was going on with John O'Keefe and the other men,' Edwards said. Advertisement Kolokithas discussed another interaction that stood out to her that night: O'Keefe kissing Read on the forehead. 6 Read exchanged flirty messages with ATF agent just weeks before her boyfriend was found dead. AP 'I'd never seen something like that before; a boyfriend do [that] to a girlfriend in public,' she said. 'Never saw that, so it just stood out to me. I was like, 'Wow, that's the sweetest thing I've ever seen.'' That nugget could also boost the defense, Bederow said, after Read's team introduced evidence that ATF Agent Brian Higgins, another man at the bar that night, was exchanging flirtatious text messages with their client behind her boyfriend's back. 'Kolokithas' description of John being affectionate with Karen right in front of Higgins minutes before Higgins seemingly was agitated towards John and had to be calmed down by Chris Albert, around the time Jen McCabe oddly told Karen she was leaving with her, was also helpful to the defense,' he said. Surveillance video appeared to show Higgins and O'Keefe gesturing at one another from across the room shortly before the group left and headed to Brian Albert's house at 34 Fairview Road. There is no audio, and Kolokithas did not testify about an argument between the men. However, Chris Albert, Brian's brother, can be seen pushing Higgins' arms down during the exchange.
