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Aaron Hernandez named shooter in 2012 slayings - USA TODAY

Posted: 15 May 2014 09:22 AM PDT

Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was indicted Thursday in a July 16, 2012 double slaying of two Boston men as "the principal, the shooter, the person responsible for taking these lives,'' Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said at a morning news conference.

The two men, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, were shot as they sat in a car at a stop light in Boston's South End.

Conley said Hernandez would be arraigned next week and that after a "chance encounter" in a Boston night club, Cure, the former Patriots tight end followed behind in an SUV, then pulled up alongside the victims' car on the right and fired a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver multiple times from the driver's side into the passengers side of the victims' vehicle.

Hernandez also faces charges in the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd in North Attleborough, Mass. last year.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Lloyd case. He was arrested and charged last June 26 and is being held without bail after Lloyd's body was found near his North Attleborough home June 17.

Messages left with Hernandez's lawyer, Michael Fee, by USA TODAY Sports were not immediately returned.

Police have said they were shot by someone who drove alongside the two victims in an SUV with Rhode Island license plates and opened fire.

"For us this case was never about Aaron Hernandez,'' Conley said. "This was about two victims who were stalked, ambushed and senselessly murdered in the streets of the city they called home.''

"This case was never about Aaron Hernandez and his notoriety; this case is about the victims, about accountability about getting justice.''

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans characterized it as "a chance encounter.''

"Mr. de Abreu and Mr. Furtado were ambushed and executed as they drove home along Shammut Avenue in Boston's South End in the early morning hours of July 16, 2012,'' Conley said.

The indictment also alleges three counts of armed assault with intent to murder and one count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

Said Conley: "These indictments reflect shots fired at three surviving victims who were in the automobile with Mr. Abreu and Mr. Furtado at the time of the homicides. The indictments further charge Aaron Hernandez for unlawfully carrying a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver he used in the attack.''

Conley said the victims arrived at the Boston night club Cure around 12:30, while Hernandez and another man entered the club at the same time.

Their chance encounter triggered a series of events that culminated in their deaths.

Conley made a point to say the two victims were not members of a Cape Verdean gang, adding "Nothing could be further from the truth.''

Conley said from last June forward, there were a number of significant developments, including the recovery of the car used in the slayings from a Hernandez relative's garage in Bristol, Conn., plus the recovery of the weapon from a person with ties to Hernandez.

Conley said it is possible other charges could be brought as the grand jury remains open.

As to the indictment returned against Hernandez's cousin Tanya Singleton, she was provided immunity. But she refused to testify.

Conley said the indictments represent nearly two years of investigation and over 80 exhibits to the grand jury.

Turkey Mine Death Toll Climbs - Voice of America

Posted: 15 May 2014 09:20 AM PDT

The image of an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan kicking a mourner who was protesting the prime minister's Wednesday visit to Soma has exacerbated tensions as four Turkish labor unions hold a national strike.

A major workers' union in Turkey called for the nationwide strike on Thursday, as the death toll in the country's worst-ever mine disaster rose to 282.

Turkey's Public Workers Union Confederation represents hundreds of thousands of employees. The union says the one-day strike is a protest against the nation's poor mining safety standards.

According reports by Reuters, Erdogan was greeted by the boos and heckles of furious protesters as he toured Soma, the site of the disaster and home to some 16,000 miners, many of whom are angry over Ankara's close relationships with the mining executives they fault for the deadly explosion.

Emergency workers continued to search for survivors after an electrical explosion erupted deep inside a coal mine Tuesday in the mining town south of Istanbul. Officials say a fire still blazing inside the mine is hindering efforts to reach the 120 people thought to be trapped in the pit.

Rescuers hope the trapped miners have taken refuge inside one of the so-called safe rooms to avoid thick smoke and poisonous gases in the mine.

Government and mining company officials say nearly 450 miners have been rescued.

Anxious crowds outside the mine Wednesday cheered when some of the men emerged with blackened faces but remarkably unharmed. As the day wore on, the cheers became sobs when rescuers started bringing out bodies.

Erdogan infuriates crowd

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan infuriated the crowd in Soma by calling workplace accidents "ordinary things."

"Such mine accidents do not happen only in Turkey. It also happens in many countries such as the United States, China, France, India and Belgium. I give, for example, figures for death tolls, many people died in such coal mine accidents. Our country is in a much better position," he said.

Erdogan had to take refuge in a grocery store. He also said the disaster in Soma will be thoroughly investigated.

Police in Ankara used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to march on the energy ministry. In Istanbul, dozens gathered outside the headquarters of the company that owns the mine.

Officials say 787 people were inside the mine at the time of the blast, but a VOA reporter who spoke to miners taking part in the rescue operation said they say that the number of miners is usually closer to 1,000.

Officials say most of the workers died from carbon monoxide poisoning after an electrical unit exploded, causing a fire inside the mine. The mining company, Soma Komur Isletmeleri, says it is unsure what caused the explosion.

Turkey's coal mines are notoriously dangerous, prompting some in parliament to demand an investigation into poor safety conditions.

People mourn at the grave of a miner after the burial service, in Soma, western province of Manisa, Turkey, May 15, 2014.
Miners and members of rescue services wait outside a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, May 15, 2014.
People prepare graves for the coal mine disaster victims in Soma, Turkey, May 15, 2014.
Members of the rescue team sit outside the coal mine, in Soma, western Turkey, May 15, 2014.
Relatives of the miners wait near the coal mine where disaster struck, in Soma, western Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2014.
A young man waits outside the coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, May 15, 2014.
Members of a rescue team wait outside the coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, May 15, 2014.
A protester is kicked by Yusuf Yerkel (left), advisor to Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, as Special Forces police officers detain him during a protest against Erdogan's visit to Soma, where the mining disaster occurred, western province of Manisa, Turkey, May 14, 2014.