BRANDON HUGHES

Albert Pujols hit his 695th career home run in the eighth inning and Miles Mikolas tossed eight scoreless innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0.

Albert Pujols collected home run No. 695 in the eighth inning and Miles Mikolas tossed eight shutout innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Pujols drilled the two-run, pinch-hit shot off reliever Brandon Hughes (2-2).

She had suffered a stillbirth two months earlier and suddenly found herself facing up to 99 years in prison. But Shoemaker thought she could beat the unusual charge of “chemical endangerment causing death,” a law unique to Alabama. Toxicology tests found methamphetamine in the baby’s blood, but the medical examiner could not say whether the drug caused the stillbirth. The coroner, an elected official with no medical training, listed chemical endangerment and methamphetamine toxicity as the baby’s cause of death on the death certificate. Chemical endangerment was the fourth-leading cause of incarceration for women in 2019, beating out credit card fraud and drug dealing, according to the Alabama Sentencing Commission.

Javier Assad pitched four scoreless innings in his major league debut and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as the Chicago Cubs cooled off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.

JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- A large fire of unknown origin burned through part of a Liberty Township landfill early Tuesday, officials said. Fire fighters were dispatched to the Liberty Landfill, south of Jackson, at about 3:30 a.m. July 12 for a report of a large fire, said Liberty Township Fire Chief Brandon Hughes. Crews arrived to find one of the landfill’s cells, a 200-yard long holding area, covered in heavy flames, Hughes said. No one was injured in the fire, and no valuable property was damaged, as the flames only damaged landfill debris, Hughes said. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, Hughes said, though landfill owners are currently reviewing security footage to see if a cause can be determined, Hughes said.

Brandon Hughes turned in a historic performance in his Major League Baseball debut. He is the first player in the modern era to record five or more outs all on strikeouts in their MLB debut, according to STATS. “I don’t even know how to react to that,” Hughes told MLB.com “That’s kind of wild. Following the change from outfielder to pitcher in 2019, Hughes threw more than 70 innings in the minors before a strong start this year. Hughes was officially called up from the Iowa Cubs by Chicago on Tuesday.

A suspect is now facing a capital murder charge in the death of Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris, who disappeared in late October, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced Monday. "Mr. Yazeed is the only person in this case responsible for abducting Aniah Blanchard. He is the only person responsible for Aniah's murder," Hughes said at a press conference. On November 8, Yazeed was arrested in Escambia County, Florida, and initially charged with first degree kidnapping. After authorities found Blanchard's remains on November 25, and the medical examiner determined that she had been killed by a gunshot wound, officials upgraded the charges against Yazeed to capital murder, Hughes said.

Authorities in Alabama believe they have discovered the remains of missing 19-year-old student Aniah Blanchard, CBS affiliate WRBL reported. Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight star Walt Harris, was reported missing by her family on October 24. "I can confirm that human remains have been found and we have good reason to suspect they are that of Aniah Blanchard," said District Attorney Brandon Hughes. The remains were discovered near the New Hope Baptist Church in Macon County. Authorities said it was damaged and there was a significant amount of her blood inside, WRBL reported.