Le Journal

A jury returned a guilty verdict for a suspect who was just 16 when prosecutors say he fatally shot a 73-year-old man at an ATM in Fairfax County, Virginia. Winston Nathaniel Lark IV was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and using a firearm in commission of a felony. The jury also had a choice of a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. The loved ones of the victim say they are finally seeing justice done. The verdict comes more than four years after the killing. Nelson Alexander headed to work early on the morning of Oct. 20, 2021. He never came home. It was the most routine of morning errands captured on security video: Alexander stopped by an ATM in the 2900 block of Annandale Road in the Falls Church section of the county. There, police say Lark, then 16, confronted Alexander and shot him in the chest. A passerby found Alexander bleeding from his wound in the parking lot. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died three days later. After an intense, monthslong investigation Fairfax County police arrested Lark and his older half-brother. On Wednesday, Lark took the witness stand and admitted he killed Alexander, but his attorney said Lark testified there was a scuffle and the gun “just went bang.” Defense attorney Brandon Sloane told jurors: “This case is about intent … whether Winston had it … whether this 16-year-old boy intended to commit a robbery.” But prosecutors argued video evidence and Lark’s own rap lyrics tell a different story. They told jurors that Lark — with his brother behind the wheel of a stolen car — pulled up to the ATM at 5:20 a.m. that morning. Lark jumped out and confronted Alexander, who was startled and dropped his wallet. Moments later, gunfire erupted, and Alexander was shot in the chest. The teens drove off without getting any money. The videos released by police helped lead to the arrests. Once he was in custody, investigators discovered a rap song written by Lark. Prosecutors pointed to words they said seem to describe the crime: “He got hit with the hollow, it ripped up his guts … He made the wrong move & he died out the hunch.” The prosecutor told jurors: “A mistake isn’t taking a gun to an atm to confront a stranger. That is not a mistake — that is a robbery turned deadly.” A sentencing date has not been set yet. Lark faces 20 years to life on the first-degree murder conviction. His half-brother, Timothy Bradshaw Robinson, pleaded guilty earlier to robbery. He was sentenced toserve just 3½ years. Alexander’s nieces said they’re hoping for a much stiffer term for the gunman: “The maximum. The absolute maximum that he could possibly get,” his niece Carletta Alexander said. Alexander was a loving, family-oriented man and an involved member of his church who sang in the choir, his loved ones said. In the wake of his death, they gathered for a vigil to honor his memory. “He was a great person, he was a kind person, and he was a loving person,” his niece Patricia Alexander said at the time. “He loved his family, each and every one, and even those who were not his family, he loved each and every one of you.” News4 reporter Aimee Cho contributed to this report.

All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore is headed to the Texas Rangers in a trade that sends five prospects back to the Nationals in the biggest move of new Washington president of baseball operations Paul Toboni’s roster rebuilding efforts, a person with knowledge of the swap told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced. Gore gives the 2023 World Series champions a starter who should be able to help the front end of their rotation along with Jacob deGrom — a two-time Cy Young Award winner who was the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 — and Nathan Eovaldi, who dealt with a rotator cuff strain and had surgery for a sports hernia after compiling a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts. Gore is under team control for the next two seasons; he can’t become a free agent until after the 2027 World Series. He is scheduled to make $5.6 million in 2026 after a one-year deal with the Nationals that avoided arbitration. Gore, who turns 27 next month, is 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA in four major league seasons, the past three with Washington. He was an NL All-Star last season, when he ended up going 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA and a career-best 185 strikeouts in 30 appearances, all starts. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres and was sent to the Nationals in the 2022 trade that included Juan Soto. The players Washington is receiving from Texas are Yeremy Cabrera, Gavin Fien, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Abimelec Ortiz, Alejandro Rosario. Fien is an 18-year-old shortstop who was taken out of high school in the first round of last year’s draft. Fitz-Gerald is a 20-year-old infielder, Rosario is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, Cabrera is a 20-year-old outfielder and Ortiz is a 23-year-old first baseman and outfielder. All five are considered among the top 20 prospects in the Rangers’ system.

Some of President Donald Trump’s handpicked appointees who have a say in his White House ballroom project asked questions Thursday about its “immense” design and scale, even as they broadly endorsed the president’s vision for a massive expansion. The Commission on Fine Arts discussion, which also included a brief review of mostly negative public comments on Trump’s plans, revealed no immediate threat to Trump’s overall idea, which historic preservationists are separately asking a federal court to slow down. But it demonstrated the sensitivity and political controversy involved since the president approved the demolition of the East Wing after unveiling designs that would more than double the square footage of the White House as it was before. “This is an important thing to the president. It’s an important thing to the nation,” said the new Fine Arts chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., in the panel’s first public hearing on Trump’s proposal. “You can’t have the United States of America entertaining people in tents,” Cook said, noting that administrations long before Trump complained about having to host State Dinners and major events in temporary structures. The question, the chairman added, is “if we can do this in a way that this building remains” true to its fundamental character and still “take care of what the president wants us to do.” 3D scale models requested by Fine Arts commissioners After lead architect Shalom Baranes presented renderings during Thursday’s online meeting, commissioners asked him to return to a future, in-person session with 3D scale models of the White House complex with the proposed addition. Baranes said an in-person presentation, per the commissioners’ request, also would include scale models of the U.S. Treasury Department building to the east of the presidential mansion and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to the west. Baranes and commissioners alike came into the meeting aware of concerns about the project’s scale and whether it can be incorporated well enough into the White House, even as Trump remains undeterred. “President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House,” said West Wing spokesman Davis Ingle. White House Jan 16 Trump quietly appoints 4 members to commission that will review White House ballroom plan White House Jan 8 White House details plans for Trump's expansive new ballroom The total addition would be almost 90,000 square feet, Baranes confirmed, with 22,000 of that the ballroom itself. The White House was about 55,000 square feet before the East Wing, first built in 1902 and expanded in the 1940s, was demolished. Thomas Luebke, the commission’s executive director, told the group that public comments received online ahead of the meeting were “almost all” negative “in some way,” criticizing the process, the design or both. Luebke read one comment that he described as “more positive” because it complimented the design and style shown in renderings. Yet even that commenter, Luebke said, wrote that “the scale appears oversized, making the main structure dominated.” Nodding to the criticism, Baranes emphasized that current plans call for the addition’s north boundary to be set back from the existing North Portico — essentially the front porch — and for the top of the new structure to be even with the primary facade of the White House and its residence. The view of the White House Baranes, whose firm has worked on other federal buildings, said this is to ensure the view of the White House from Pennsylvania Avenue would not change fundamentally. A new east side colonnade connecting the main structure to the ballroom addition also would be two stories, rather than the single story that was demolished. This would add to the continuity of the new design, Baranes said. He added that architects have contemplated a similar second story atop the West Wing to address concerns…

Forward Trinity Rodman agreed to a three-year contract to remain with the Washington Spirit, ending months of speculation about the Olympic gold medalist’s future in the National Women’s Soccer League. “I think I’ve always had a vision and an idea of what I wanted my legacy to be,” Rodman said at an event announcing her new deal on Thursday in Los Angeles. “And for me, we’re doing that, and I’m so grateful for that.” The speculation over Rodman’s future with the Spirit spurred criticism of the NWSL salary cap and whether it hampered the league from attracting and maintaining top players. The 23-yera-old Rodman became a free agent at the end of last season after five years with the Spirit. One of the biggest stars in the NWSL, keeping her in the league was considered vitally important as other U.S. national team stars, including Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson, opted to play in Europe. Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Paris Olympics, had been drawing interest from European teams that don’t have a salary cap. “I can’t think of the Washington Spirit without her,” Spirit owner Michele Kang said. “And I hope she can’t think about her career without the Washington Spirit. So this is really monumental and it was really important, not only for the Spirit, especially for our fans who expect to see her. They come to Audi Field and that’s where Rowdy Audi clearly came out.” Rodman said she always wanted to stay with the Spirit “Making my decision, the one question I was asked was: ‘Do you feel like you’re finished with the Spirit? Can you say that and feel confident leaving?’” she said. “I didn’t even need half a second, and I was like, ’No, I’m not. I don’t feel ready to make a different decision. That’s just, again, getting drafted here and developing and maturing and learning – and failing – at the Spirit, in D.C., it’s become so much of my legacy and my story. But on top of that, I still feel like there’s so much more I have to give and so much more that I want to do.” The Spirit and Rodman had previously struck a multi-year deal that both parties maintained was in compliance with the salary cap, but it was rejected by the league because it went against the spirit of the rules. The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association filed a grievance claiming that the NWSL’s rejection of the contract violated Rodman’s free agency rights and violated the collective bargaining agreement. To address the salary cap issue, the NWSL in late December adopted a “High Impact Player” mechanism that allowed teams to spend up to $1 million over the cap to sign players that meet certain criteria. Those included metrics like national team minutes, inclusion among the 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or or player rankings by outlets like the Guardian or ESPN. The NWSLPA filed a grievance over the rule, claiming it violated the collective bargaining agreement and federal labor law because player compensation must be negotiated. The NWSLPA maintains the league had no authority to “unilaterally create a new pay structure.” Spirit President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter said the High Impact Player rule figured into the contract Rodman ultimately agreed to. Carter also said the grievances would not alter Rodman’s deal. The financial terms of Rodman’s contract were not disclosed, but the Spirit called it “one of the most significant deals in NWSL history.” The NWSL’s salary cap is $3.5 million for each team for the 2026 season, although it will increase each year until it hits $5.1 million in 2030. Rodman is currently with the national team in their annual January training camp in Carson, California. The team plays a match there against Paraguay on Saturday and then plays Chile on Tuesday in Santa Barbara. Rodman has 47 appearances and 11 goals with the national team, more than any other player on the latest roster. She played in one U.S. match…

L’artiste, qui a sorti son premier album, « Industry Plant », et qui est en tournée dans toute la France, est l’invitée du « Goût de M », en accès libre dès le vendredi sur toutes les plateformes.