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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Pick 3 Day" game were:
6-2-5
(six, two, five)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Pick 3 Day" game were:
6-2-5
(six, two, five) | https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Day-game-17029210.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:12 | en | 0.92051 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Pick 4 Day" game were:
0-4-3-3
(zero, four, three, three)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Pick 4 Day" game were:
0-4-3-3
(zero, four, three, three) | https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Day-game-17029209.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:18 | en | 0.909194 |
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Three men have pleaded guilty to reduced federal charges in Las Vegas, admitting that they set fire to a police vehicle during a May 2020 racial injustice protest in the days following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Tyree Walker, 23, Devarian Haynes, 23, and Ricardo Densmore, 24, will each face two years in federal prison, three years of federal supervision following their release, 100 hours of community service and a $100 fine, according to plea agreements filed this week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
Each had faced conspiracy and arson charges in a four-count indictment filed in June 2020 that could have gotten them five to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Each pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder and remained free Friday on supervised release pending sentencing June 22 before U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon, records showed.
Attorneys for the three men did not immediately respond to email messages about the pleas. Walker appeared in court Monday, Haynes entered his plea Tuesday and Densmore pleaded guilty Thursday.
Densmore recorded and posted video on social media showing Haynes pouring a flammable liquid from a fuel can through a missing window of a marked police patrol SUV, Walker dropping a flaming paper object inside, and Haynes dropping the gas can into the vehicle, according to an affidavit filed by a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent.
After arrests and during questioning, each man admitted his participation with the other two, according to the affidavit.
The early May 31, 2020, incident occurred during more than a week of racial injustice protests that sometimes drew thousands of people in downtown Las Vegas, on the resort-lined Strip — which was nearly deserted following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic — and in other Nevada cities.
Some protesters threw rocks and bottles, police used tear gas, several injuries were reported, some downtown Las Vegas businesses were vandalized and police made dozens of arrests.
On June 2, 2020, an armed man was shot and killed by Las Vegas police after a crowd was ordered to disperse near the Las Vegas federal courthouse, and a Las Vegas police officer was wounded and left paralyzed in a shooting during a separate protest near a Strip hotel-casino. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/3-plead-guilty-to-burning-Vegas-police-SUV-amid-17029295.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:25 | en | 0.972876 |
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 1868 amendment to the U.S. Constitution best known for protecting the due process rights of previously enslaved Americans has resurfaced in certain congressional races this year.
Some attorneys and voters believe a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection can disqualify a handful of U.S. House members from seeking reelection for events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
First-term Republican firebrands Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are among those targeted. Both are strong supporters of former President Donald Trump who have pushed his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
It's a largely untested argument working its way through election agencies in at least three states, with little success so far. But court cases and appeals could address the extent to which state officials can scrutinize the minimum qualifications for candidates for federal office.
WHAT DOES THE 14TH AMENDMENT SAY?
There are five sections to the amendment. The best-known declares that no state can “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Section 3 of the amendment also declares that no one can serve in Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” This section was designed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War from returning to Congress. The amendment, however, allows Congress to pass laws that can remove such restrictions.
HOW COULD IT APPLY TO LAWMAKERS TODAY?
Voters from congressional districts where Cawthorn and Greene are seeking reelection this fall allege in legal filings that evidence shows they helped facilitate the Jan, 6, 2021, insurrection that attempted to thwart the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. The voters want state officials to investigate Greene and Cawthorn and disqualify them from appearing on ballots this year, based on the amendment's language.
Greene, according to a challenge filed Thursday with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, either helped plan the riot or helped plan the demonstration held beforehand, knowing that it was “substantially likely to lead to the attack, and otherwise voluntarily aided the insurrection.”
In a video posted on social media, Greene said: “You can’t allow it to just transfer power ‘peacefully’ like Joe Biden wants and allow him to become our president because he did not win this election.”
Somewhat similar allegations have been lodged with the North Carolina Board of Elections by voters challenging Cawthorn. Cawthorn spoke at the “Save America Rally" before the riot, days after he was sworn in to office, saying the “crowd has some fight in it.”
A longshot Democrat candidate seeking to unseat Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks filed similar allegations against Banks with the state elections commission.
HOW HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVES RESPONDED?
Greene and Cawthorn have said they did nothing unlawful such as encouraging political violence or participating in an insurrection.
Cawthorn, who was the first representative subjected to the challenge in January, said activists are going after “America First patriots” who backed Trump. Greene said she was targeted because she is “effective and will not bow to the DC machine.”
Cawthorn proceeded to sue the State Board of Elections in federal court, saying that North Carolina's candidate challenge process violated his constitutional rights and should be overturned. His lawyers also said Section 3 didn't apply to Cawthorn because of congressional action in 1872.
Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, is helping represent the voters in both challenges. The group has said more challenges could be filed against other members of Congress who are seeking reelection.
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THE CHALLENGES?
Indiana's state elections commission voted unanimously last month to reject the challenge against Banks. The commission's chairman, a Republican, called the Capitol riot a “regrettable mark in history” but said there was no evidence that Banks was guilty of taking part in an insurrection.
As for Cawthorn, U.S. District Judge Richard Myers ruled earlier this month that the State Board of Elections could not hear the voters' challenges on Section 3 claims.
Myers wrote that the 1872 law that removed office-holding disqualifications "from all persons whomsoever" — save for those who served in two specific legislative sessions — “demonstrates that the disability set forth in Section 3 can apply to no current member of Congress.”
The North Carolina Board of Elections hasn't appealed so far. Myers previously rebuffed efforts by voters who filed challenges to participate in the litigation, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told him last week to reconsider their entry. Myers' ruling could come as soon as next week.
COULD VOTERS ULTIMATELY HAVE THEIR SAY?
Free Speech for People argues that the 1872 law applied only to former members of the Confederacy: "The right of voters to bring this challenge to Cawthorn’s eligibility must be preserved,” group legal director Ron Fein said this month.
Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional expert at the University of North Carolina law school, said he believes the 1872 law could be construed more broadly than how Myers ruled. But he also said the chances that candidate challenges will go forward under insurrection claims are “probably not good.”
“It's really a novel theory and there's no consensus on what the actual procedure should be, and that does pose a problem,” Gerhardt said.
He said it's unclear, for example, whether a declaration that someone participated in an insurrection should come from a judge hearing evidence, state officials or Congress.
If the challenges are unsuccessful or delayed, voters still will get to decide whether the subjects of the challenges should return to Congress. Greene and Cawthorn have GOP primaries in May.
Cawthorn may have the more difficult road, with seven GOP opponents. He also has taken criticism for a video in which he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug" even as his country resists a Russian invasion. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/AP-Explains-Why-the-14th-Amendment-has-surfaced-17029445.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:37 | en | 0.970011 |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers override Utah governor's veto to join 11 other states banning transgender students from girls sports.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers override Utah governor's veto to join 11 other states banning transgender students from girls sports. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-GOP-lawmakers-override-Utah-governor-s-17029409.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:43 | en | 0.872668 |
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Parole recommended for last California inmate who participated in 1976 school bus hijacking. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-Parole-recommended-for-last-California-17029359.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:49 | en | 0.873167 |
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NEW YORK (AP) — The Black News Channel has pulled the plug after the 2-year-old venture failed to meet payroll and lost the backing of its biggest investor.
Princell Hair, the company's president and CEO, told employees Friday in a memo that the news network was ceasing live production and would file for bankruptcy. BNC was available in some 50 million homes with cable and satellite but had failed to attract many viewers.
The network, founded in 2020 by former GOP congressman J.C. Watts, hired more than 250 Black journalists and production personnel last year in a relaunch following an investment by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Kahn.
But it was consistently losing money, despite two rounds of layoffs, and Kahn decided to stop investing in it further. It is currently three weeks short of payroll, a company spokesman said.
Hair, a former CNN executive, took over in the relaunch last year. BNC brought on contributors like Charles Blow, columnist at The New York Times, and commentator Marc Lamont Hill. Correspondents were stationed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
The end came even as BNC recorded its biggest audience ever this week with its live coverage of the Judiciary Committee hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Hair said.
He told employees that their contributions had been remarkable, but “due to challenging market conditions and global financial pressures, we have been unable to meet our financial goals, and the timeline afforded to us has run out.”
Establishing a network is particularly tough at a time when consumers have so many choices and many are cutting cable or satellite cords.
“Remember that we built something great here,” Hair said in his memo. “BNC, or something very close to it, will surely return at some point, because the world needs it, and all of you have proven it can be done.”
News of BNC's shutdown was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
The National Association of Black Journalists said Friday that it was looking at ways to help members that were thrown out of work by the shutdown. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Black-News-Channel-shuts-down-days-after-ratings-17029412.php | 2022-03-25T20:54:55 | en | 0.984204 |
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Democrat Elvi Gray-Jackson said Friday that she is ending her run for U.S. Senate in Alaska and instead will seek reelection to the state Senate.
Gray-Jackson, in a statement released by her campaign, said that as first-quarter fundraising concludes “and after some deep reflection on our current system and the monumental expenses necessary to run a successful campaign, I have decided that my best efforts to change that system and to change Alaska will be done in the Senate in Juneau.”
Gray-Jackson had been the only Democrat who had so far filed to run for the U.S. Senate seat, which is held by Republican Lisa Murkowski. Gray-Jackson had filed as a candidate last month.
Murkowski, who is seeking reelection, reported having about $4.3 million available at the end of the last quarter, which ended Dec. 31. Murkowski at that time held a huge cash-on-hand advantage over Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who began running late last March and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. One other challenger who had reported raising funds, Libertarian Sean Thorne, lagged far behind both.
Gray-Jackson, in the statement, said she looks “forward to supporting a new candidate who represents the best of Alaska’s ideals to challenge" Murkowski. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Democrat-Gray-Jackson-ends-US-Senate-run-in-Alaska-17029344.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:01 | en | 0.974043 |
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BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders struggled for hours Friday to find a compromise on a deal aimed at curbing energy prices that have gone through the roof and hurt households and businesses across the 27-nation bloc.
There was a clear rift between the bloc's southern and northern nations during the day-long talks in Brussels, with Mediterranean countries led by Spain pushing for intervention on the market with measures like price caps while Germany and the Netherlands resisted drastic options.
Leaders, however, did agree on a proposal from the European Commission to move toward the joint purchase of natural gas and ensuring that the bloc’s storage facilities are nearly full to try to avoid another energy crisis tied to the EU’s dependency on Russian energy.
The war in Ukraine has made EU nations realize they have been way too reliant on Russia for natural gas and oil to warm their homes and run their industries.
Earlier in the day, the United States and the EU announced a new partnership to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy. Under the plan, the U.S. and other nations will increase liquified natural gas exports to Europe by 15 billion cubic meters this year. Even larger shipments would be delivered in the future.
Facing protests at home from farmers, truckers and the fishing industry, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had put forward plans to the EU to decouple electricity from gas prices. Yet the radical options failed to gather an immediate consensus. The EU will revisit the matter in May but Spain and Portugal could receive special dispensation to weather price hikes in the meantime.
“The Iberian peninsula has a very special situation. There, their energy mix is with a high load of renewables, this is very good,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the summit. “Therefore, we agreed on a special treatment... so that the Iberian peninsula can deal with this very specific situation they are in and manage the electricity prices in the way we have been discussing.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said divergent views within the Council paved the way for the very long debate, “because the different states’ interests and energy models are not the same.”
With energy prices high and supplies low, the EU is looking at its last crisis — the COVID-19 pandemic — as a blueprint. The member states joined up to buy vaccines in huge quantities for an equitable distribution.
“The root cause of high electricity prices is, in big part, high and volatile gas prices," von der Leyen said. “So we will join forces, pool our demand and use our collective bargaining power when purchasing gas. In addition, we must complete pipeline infrastructure and ramp up our storage. This will be our insurance policy against supply disruption. It's also time to look at the design of our energy market.“
Europe was already facing a tricky test before Russia’s invasion because of an outlook for slowing economic growth accompanied by surging inflation, which is being driven by high energy prices. The European commission has predicted that the bloc’s economic growth would slow from 5.3% last year to 4% this year and 2.8% in 2023.
EU leaders agreed in principle at a March 11 summit to phase out dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal imports by 2027. The EU currently imports 90% of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40% of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
___
Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
___
Follow all AP stories on the effects of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/EU-leaders-reach-compromise-on-energy-after-long-17029380.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:08 | en | 0.959421 |
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HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Fall in love again as the classic film, “Selena,” returns to theaters.
Selena Quintanilla, known as the “Queen of Tejano music,” was a star headed for crossover success when she was shot in 1995 by her fan club president and friend, Yolanda Saldivar.
The biopic musical highlights the late artist’s life and career.
On Monday, the late artist’s verified account announced the return of the film nationwide.
Mark your calendars and rediscover the incredible story of one of America’s brightest stars! “Selena” The Movie Appearing nationwide starting April 7th in theaters.
Playing the Grammy-winning performer in the film, Jennifer Lopez shared her love for the film in a tribute post on her Instagram account.
This movie means so much to me … Selena and her family mean so much to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her. I’ll never forget this time in my life and it’s an honor as an artist to have been part of the magic that is this movie
Jennifer Lopez | https://www.fox44news.com/entertainment-news/selena-returning-to-theaters-for-25th-anniversary/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:19 | en | 0.946122 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving the Navy a freer hand determining what job assignments it gives to 35 sailors who sued after refusing on religious grounds to comply with an order to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The high court in a brief order Friday sided with the Biden administration and said that while the lawsuit plays out, the Navy may consider the sailors' vaccination status in making deployment, assignment and other operational decisions. The group that sued includes mostly Navy SEALs.
Three justices noted that they disagreed with their colleagues' decision and would have sided with the group of SEALs.
A federal judge in Texas in January issued a preliminary injunction barring the Navy from acting against the sailors. The Biden administration said it was not asking the Supreme Court to block parts of the lower court order barring the sailors from being disciplined or discharged but only the requirement that their assignments be made without considering their vaccination status. That requirement posed "intolerable risks to safety and mission success," the administration had argued.
“Navy personnel routinely operate for extended periods of time in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses, where mitigation measures such as distancing are impractical or impossible. A SEAL who falls ill not only cannot complete his or her own mission, but risks infecting others as well, particularly in close quarters, including on submarines,” Biden administration lawyers wrote.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year made vaccinations mandatory for service members. Navy guidelines allow for exemptions to the vaccine requirement on religious and other grounds, including medical reasons and if a servicemember is about to leave the Navy. The Biden administration says the Navy has received more than 4,000 requests for religious exemptions, but it said that as of the start of February only about 80 had been fully adjudicated. It said one religious exemption had been granted.
Lawyers for the group of sailors that sued had argued that the Navy had granted hundreds of non-religious exemptions. They said that in asking the high court to allow vaccine status to be considered, the Navy was seeking “license to engage in hostile tactics designed to coerce plaintiffs into disregarding their religious beliefs.”
Lower courts had denied the Biden administration's plea to be allowed to consider vaccination status. That includes a federal judge in Texas, Reed O'Connor, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. Two of those judges were appointees of former President Donald Trump while the third was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/High-court-gives-Biden-win-for-now-in-Navy-17029426.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:20 | en | 0.983384 |
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(WTRF) – Wrestling legend Triple H has revealed that he never plans to enter the ring again.
In an emotional interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Triple H confirmed that he’s retiring from in-ring activity after suffering a cardiac event last year.
“There’s moments there where, when [the doctors are] putting you out for stuff, and you think, ‘Is this it? Do you wake up from this?’ That’s tough to swallow,” said Triple H, choking up.
The wrestler, whose real name is Paul Michael Levesque, told Smith that he first contracted viral pneumonia and began to cough up blood, prompting him to seek medical attention. Doctors found fluid around his lungs and heart, and informed him that he was experiencing heart failure and needed to get to an emergency room immediately, he said.
“I was nosediving, and sort of at the 1-yard-line of … where you don’t wanna be for your family and your future,” he said.
Triple H underwent a successful procedure at Yale New Haven Hospital following his cardiac event, which WWE said in September had been “caused by a genetic issue.” At the time, WWE added that Triple H was expected to make a full recovery.
When asked about his future in wrestling for ESPN’s interview, Triple H didn’t mince words.
“For me, as far as in-ring … I’m done,” he told Smith. “I won’t, no, I would never wrestle again.”
He also said he now has a defibrillator in his chest, and it was “probably not a good idea to get zapped on live TV.”
Triple H is the current executive vice president of Global Talent Strategy & Development at WWE. He is also the creator and executive producer of the WWE brand NXT. His full interview with Smith is scheduled to air Friday night on “Stephen A’s World.” | https://www.fox44news.com/entertainment-news/wwe-legend-triple-h-announces-retirement-from-wrestling-im-done/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:25 | en | 0.980707 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal immigration authorities announced Friday that they'll stop housing detainees at an Alabama jail with a history of problems and will limit the use of three other detention centers.
The decisions reinforce a commitment by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to review detention facilities to determine whether they are humane, meet applicable standards and are a responsible use of funding, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement news release.
ICE says it will stop using the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, Alabama, as soon as possible, taking into account a 30-day notification requirement. The jail has “a long history of serious deficiencies," the release says.
Advocates who have long sought the end of ICE detention at the Etowah County Jail hailed the news as a victory, but they urged federal authorities not to just transfer people from one facility to another.
“The Etowah County Detention Center exemplifies everything that is wrong with immigration detention and why the detention system must be abolished," Detention Watch Network advocacy director Setareh Ghandehari said in a news release. "The administration can and must do more to completely phase out the use of immigration detention by continuing to terminate contracts, shut down additional facilities and free people from detention.”
Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton told The Gadsden Times that the decision to quit sending detainees to the jail “was just a bombshell,” and that he was working with members of Alabama’s congressional delegation to get more information.
Just this week the center was notified that 135 detainees would be coming next week, he said. “No one has canceled that,” said Horton.
ICE said it will also limit its use of the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida; the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana; and the Alamance County Detention Facility in Graham, North Carolina.
ICE has already reduced its use of the Glades County facility in recent years, in part because of “persistent and ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care.” But it was still paying for a minimum number of beds and has now decided not to extend that guaranteed minimum bed provision. Future use of the facility will depend on conditions meeting detention standards, the agency said.
Rebecca Talbot with Immigrant Action Alliance credited organizing and resistance for ICE's policy change regarding the Glades County facility.
“Emptying Glades, ending the guaranteed minimum, and requiring Glades to fully address conditions that do not meet detention standards are all huge steps in the right direction,” Rebecca Talbot with Immigrant Action Alliance said in a news release. “Now it’s time for the Biden administration to commit to closing Glades fully and forever, and to release those who have been transferred from Glades to other facilities.”
ICE had been using the Alamance County facility for long-term detention, but says it will now only use it for stays of under 72 hours if applicable standards are met. The agency said it is concerned about conditions, including a lack of outdoor recreation.
ICE plans to reduce the guaranteed minimum at Winn Correctional Center to match the facility's staffing constraints, the release says. ICE will also assign a custody resource coordinator to provide an assessment and will monitor conditions and take actions as needed, the release says.
ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson has told staff to begin preparations, including relocating ICE staff and detainees as needed. The agency said it plans to continue to review other detention centers and adjust its use as appropriate. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/ICE-to-stop-using-Alabama-jail-limit-use-of-3-17029342.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:26 | en | 0.958023 |
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LAREDO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Two Fort Hood soldiers were sentenced to federal prison after conspiring to transport migrants.
Isaiah Gore, 21, and Denerio Williams 22, plead guilty on Dec. 2. Ivory Palmer, 21, also plead guilty on Jan. 10. The three men are active soldiers with the U.S. Army, according to a release from the United States Department of Justice.
The investigation began on June 13, 2021 when authorities caught Emmanuel Oppongagyare and Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie smuggling migrants in the trunk of a vehicle in Hebbronville. The two men were wearing U.S. Army uniforms.
Oppongagyare admitted to authorities that Gore recruited to pick up migrants from McAllen and drive them to San Antonio, the release stated.
The investigation later confirmed that Oppongagyare, Saint-Joie, Williams and Palmer were each involved in the smuggling conspiracy as drivers who would transport the migrants in exchange for money.
It was also confirmed that Gore was actively recruiting others to pick up migrants in the conspiracy. He has been discharged from the Army.
Gore received a sentence of two and a half years in prison, and Williams received a sentence of two years in prison.
Palmer’s sentence is still pending. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/fort-hood-soldier-agreed-to-transport-migrants-from-mcallen/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:31 | en | 0.9775 |
HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. judge has rejected a deal between prosecutors and a former elected Hawaii official who agreed to plead guilty and accept a 15-year prison term for leading a drug-trafficking organization.
Arthur Brun pleaded guilty last year to charges including drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine and assault of a federal law enforcement officer.
Prosecutors said he led the drug ring while serving as a member of the county council on the island of Kauai.
Among the allegations laid out in court documents by prosecutors: Brun conspired with a gang leader, requested sexual favors as payment for drugs and assaulted a law enforcement officer.
Brun was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, but according to court records, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson rejected the deal Brun negotiated for a 15-year sentence.
Judges, who have the final say in sentencing, aren't bound by plea agreements.
“The government wanted 15 years of a man's life and the court felt that 15 years wasn't enough,” said Brun's attorney, Rustam Barbee. “The government wanted their pound of flesh and Judge Watson wanted two pounds.”
Barbee said his client will have to go to trial unless he can get a new deal from prosecutors.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Hawaii declined to comment. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Judge-rejects-15-year-deal-for-ex-councilman-in-17029311.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:32 | en | 0.976093 |
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WACO, Texas – This Sunday will be the start of a special 72 hours for students at Baylor University.
Students will gather on Fountain Mall for 72 hours of prayer – asking that God bring revival and renewal to the campus and to Waco.
They will also gather at McLane Stadium each night through Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. to worship together.
This event first started when students prayed for revival for 90 straight days in the spring of 1945. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/baylor-to-begin-72-hour-prayer-event/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:37 | en | 0.944695 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors and lawyers for convicted murderer Scott Peterson will give closing arguments in late June before a California judge decides whether Peterson deserves a new trial in the slaying of his pregnant wife 20 years ago.
The arguments will follow an anticlimactic two final days of testimony into whether juror Richelle Nice was biased and lied to get on the jury that convicted Peterson in 2004 and put him on death row for the murders of Laci, 27, and the unborn child they planned to name Conner.
The California Supreme Court overturned Peterson's death sentence in 2020 and tasked Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo with deciding if he received a fair trial.
On Friday, she ordered Stanislaus County prosecutors and Peterson's attorneys to submit written arguments by May 25 and reply briefs by June 9. They'll return to court June 29 to provide oral arguments before she takes the case under submission for a later decision.
“I think everyone is anxious to get this in," she said.
She also ordered Peterson returned to San Quentin State Prison until June, where he previously had been on death row, after his attorneys said they were having trouble communicating with him while he has been recently housed in the San Mateo County Jail.
Massullo had delayed the final two days of the hearing from early this month after Peterson's attorneys said they had surprise testimony from documentary producer Shareen Anderson.
Anderson had belatedly told an investigator that Nice and other co-authors of a post-trial book about the case had discussed a book deal during the trial, which would have been improper.
That was contradicted by other testimony, and Peterson's attorneys quickly dropped the allegation when Anderson subsequently said her recollection was “fuzzy” and she wasn't sure whether the book deal was discussed during or after the trial.
But they still flew Anderson in from New York this week with the expectation that she would testify Thursday about a photograph on Nice's wall that she recalled seeing while she was working on the television documentary “The Murder of Laci Peterson" in 2017.
Anderson abruptly refused to testify, however, saying through her attorney that she hadn't been properly legally served with an order to appear, and that her testimony couldn't be required because she was acting as a journalist while producing the documentary.
The attorneys eventually settled on a simple stipulation: As Anderson was leaving Nice's home after an interview, she observed a photo on Nice's wall of a small child wearing pajamas imprinted with the words, “Little Man.”
Peterson's attorneys say Nice referred to Conner during jury deliberations as “little man,” which they say are among indications that she was biased against their client.
They contend that she lied about her lack of bias to get on the jury, and lied again in a sworn declaration in 2020.
Nice testified earlier that she held no bias against Peterson until after she heard the evidence that he dumped his wife’s body into San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.
Nice failed to disclose during jury selection that she sought a restraining order while pregnant in 2000, saying she “really fears for her unborn child” because of threats from her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.
She said in her sworn declaration 20 years later that she didn’t “feel ‘victimized’ the way the law might define that term.”
As their final witness, Peterson's attorneys called to the stand on Friday her former attorney, Negad Zaky, to testify about his communications with the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office while preparing Nice’s declaration.
Zaky said he had discussions with prosecutors but that they didn't tell him how to write the declaration that Nice later signed under oath. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Juror-misconduct-hearing-in-Scott-Peterson-case-17029282.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:38 | en | 0.986135 |
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WACO, Texas – This dry weather is dangerous not only to Central Texans, but also to a tyrannosaurus rex!
The Waco Fire Department responded to what it is calling a “miscellaneous fire incident” on Friday. Crews were dispatched to the Waco Convention Center at 100 Washington Avenue and found one of the dinosaurs from the “Jurassic Quest” event on fire.
FOX 44 News was originally made aware of this after a report of smoke in the downtown Waco area.
We will have more information as it becomes available. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/dinosaur-catches-fire-at-waco-convention-center/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:44 | en | 0.968666 |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A Washington state man who acknowledged organizing a rim-to-rim hike at Grand Canyon National Park for 139 people when the size of such groups is limited has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from the October 2020 trip.
Joseph Don Mount of Chehalis pleaded guilty Friday to violating the park's rule limiting group size and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Beginning about five years ago, the park limited the number of visitors in such groups to 11 people to prevent overcrowding on trails. The restriction has remained in place throughout the pandemic.
Mount was warned about the size limitation and a prohibition on splitting large groups into smaller groups in a bid to get around the rule. But investigators have said Mount kept organizing the trip, recruiting prospective hikers, posting an itinerary and a list of those who signed up for the trip, and making other preparations.
His attorney, Ryan Stevens, said his client had good intentions in trying to draw together people who shared the same religious faith into an outing and that a lot of people had committed to the trip by the time his client was confronted by park employees about group size for his upcoming trip.
Others on the trails at the time complained that the group wasn’t distancing or wearing face coverings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and that they clogged the path, delaying itineraries.
Investigators say Mount collected thousands of dollars in registration fees from hikers to cover guide services, transportation and other costs. Mount projected at one time that after covering those costs, he would net a profit of about $65, according to court records. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Man-acknowledges-leading-outsized-group-in-Grand-17029324.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:45 | en | 0.975516 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/articles/38945761 | 2022-03-25T20:55:45 | en | 0.738227 |
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 1868 amendment to the U.S. Constitution best known for protecting the due process rights of previously enslaved Americans has resurfaced in certain congressional races this year.
Some attorneys and voters believe a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection can disqualify a handful of U.S. House members from seeking reelection for events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
First-term Republican firebrands Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are among those targeted. Both are strong supporters of former President Donald Trump who have pushed his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
It's a largely untested argument working its way through election agencies in at least three states, with little success so far. But court cases and appeals could address the extent to which state officials can scrutinize the minimum qualifications for candidates for federal office.
WHAT DOES THE 14TH AMENDMENT SAY?
There are five sections to the amendment. The best-known declares that no state can "deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Section 3 of the amendment also declares that no one can serve in Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” This section was designed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War from returning to Congress. The amendment, however, allows Congress to pass laws that can remove such restrictions.
HOW COULD IT APPLY TO LAWMAKERS TODAY?
Voters from congressional districts where Cawthorn and Greene are seeking reelection this fall allege in legal filings that evidence shows they helped facilitate the Jan, 6, 2021, insurrection that attempted to thwart the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. The voters want state officials to investigate Greene and Cawthorn and disqualify them from appearing on ballots this year, based on the amendment's language.
Greene, according to a challenge filed Thursday with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, either helped plan the riot or helped plan the demonstration held beforehand, knowing that it was “substantially likely to lead to the attack, and otherwise voluntarily aided the insurrection.”
In a video posted on social media, Greene said: “You can’t allow it to just transfer power ‘peacefully’ like Joe Biden wants and allow him to become our president because he did not win this election.”
Somewhat similar allegations have been lodged with the North Carolina Board of Elections by voters challenging Cawthorn. Cawthorn spoke at the “Save America Rally" before the riot, days after he was sworn in to office, saying the “crowd has some fight in it.”
A longshot Democrat candidate seeking to unseat Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks filed similar allegations against Banks with the state elections commission.
HOW HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVES RESPONDED?
Greene and Cawthorn have said they did nothing unlawful such as encouraging political violence or participating in an insurrection.
Cawthorn, who was the first representative subjected to the challenge in January, said activists are going after “America First patriots” who backed Trump. Greene said she was targeted because she is “effective and will not bow to the DC machine.”
Cawthorn proceeded to sue the State Board of Elections in federal court, saying that North Carolina's candidate challenge process violated his constitutional rights and should be overturned. His lawyers also said Section 3 didn't apply to Cawthorn because of congressional action in 1872.
Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, is helping represent the voters in both challenges. The group has said more challenges could be filed against other members of Congress who are seeking reelection.
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THE CHALLENGES?
Indiana's state elections commission voted unanimously last month to reject the challenge against Banks. The commission's chairman, a Republican, called the Capitol riot a "regrettable mark in history" but said there was no evidence that Banks was guilty of taking part in an insurrection.
As for Cawthorn, U.S. District Judge Richard Myers ruled earlier this month that the State Board of Elections could not hear the voters' challenges on Section 3 claims.
Myers wrote that the 1872 law that removed office-holding disqualifications "from all persons whomsoever" — save for those who served in two specific legislative sessions — “demonstrates that the disability set forth in Section 3 can apply to no current member of Congress.”
The North Carolina Board of Elections hasn't appealed so far. Myers previously rebuffed efforts by voters who filed challenges to participate in the litigation, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told him last week to reconsider their entry. Myers' ruling could come as soon as next week.
COULD VOTERS ULTIMATELY HAVE THEIR SAY?
Free Speech for People argues that the 1872 law applied only to former members of the Confederacy: "The right of voters to bring this challenge to Cawthorn’s eligibility must be preserved,” group legal director Ron Fein said this month.
Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional expert at the University of North Carolina law school, said he believes the 1872 law could be construed more broadly than how Myers ruled. But he also said the chances that candidate challenges will go forward under insurrection claims are “probably not good.”
“It's really a novel theory and there's no consensus on what the actual procedure should be, and that does pose a problem,” Gerhardt said.
He said it's unclear, for example, whether a declaration that someone participated in an insurrection should come from a judge hearing evidence, state officials or Congress.
If the challenges are unsuccessful or delayed, voters still will get to decide whether the subjects of the challenges should return to Congress. Greene and Cawthorn have GOP primaries in May.
Cawthorn may have the more difficult road, with seven GOP opponents. He also has taken criticism for a video in which he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug" even as his country resists a Russian invasion.
Credit: Saul Loeb
Credit: Saul Loeb | https://www.journal-news.com/nation-world/ap-explains-why-the-14th-amendment-has-surfaced-in-midterms/VP4HYJ33QZDVXFT5MD2GFNHOFI/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:47 | en | 0.96982 |
KILLEEN, Texas – The Killeen Independent School District’s Board of Trustees is accepting nominations for the naming of a new middle school campus and a decommissioned school building.
- Middle School #15 is slated to open in the fall of 2024, and will house the district’s third middle school STEM program. It is being constructed south of Chaparral High School.
- Former Nolan Middle School was decommissioned as a campus in 2020 with the opening of the new Nolan Middle School in Harker Heights. The decommissioned building on Jasper Road serves as a multi-use facility since closing to students.
A facility may be named after a prominent person or public official who has served the District or the community with distinction, or after a person who donated significant property or funded endowed scholarships to the District.
A facility may be named after a street or local, state, or national geographic area if such a name has significance and does not lead to confusion.
District facilities may also be named in a descriptive manner to identify their purpose or location, e.g., Administration Building, Killeen ISD Career Center, Student Services, or Technology Services Center.
Anyone interested in submitting a name to be considered for one of these buildings, must complete the nomination form online.
Nominations will be accepted until April 22. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/help-name-new-killeen-isd-buildings/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:50 | en | 0.961394 |
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A 19-year-old man is facing murder charges in a drive-by shooting that killed a 7-year-old girl outside her Detroit-area home, authorities said Friday.
Justin Rouser was arraigned Friday on first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder and other charges, according to the Oakland County sheriff's office. He was ordered held without bond in the county jail.
The Associated Press was unable Friday afternoon to determine if Rouser has an attorney.
On March 18, Ariah Jackson was in the rear seat of a car stopped in the driveway of her Pontiac home when shots were fired at the car from an SUV, authorities said.
The girl’s mother, 30, and three other children also were in the car. Ariah was struck once in the back of her head. Her mother’s head was grazed by a bullet. Ariah’s sister and two cousins were not wounded.
Ariah was rushed to a hospital, where she later was pronounced dead.
Her mother told deputies that she was waiting at a school bus stop for her two children and two nieces when she noticed an orange SUV with two males inside drive by. Once the children were off the bus, she drove home. That's when a male passenger in the SUV fired shots at the car.
The sheriff’s office has said the shooting was gang-related and there is no known connection between Rouser and the victim or her family.
Rouser was arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop after leaving a home in nearby Troy where authorities believed he was hiding, the sheriff's office said.
Police were continuing to seek the SUV's driver who has been identified as a 17-year-old Pontiac resident.
Pontiac is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Man-charged-in-fatal-shooting-of-Detroit-area-17029429.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:51 | en | 0.993198 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/articles/38946069 | 2022-03-25T20:55:51 | en | 0.738227 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving the Navy a freer hand determining what job assignments it gives to 35 sailors who sued after refusing on religious grounds to comply with an order to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The high court in a brief order Friday sided with the Biden administration and said that while the lawsuit plays out, the Navy may consider the sailors' vaccination status in making deployment, assignment and other operational decisions. The group that sued includes mostly Navy SEALs.
Three justices noted that they disagreed with their colleagues' decision and would have sided with the group of SEALs.
A federal judge in Texas in January issued a preliminary injunction barring the Navy from acting against the sailors. The Biden administration said it was not asking the Supreme Court to block parts of the lower court order barring the sailors from being disciplined or discharged but only the requirement that their assignments be made without considering their vaccination status. That requirement posed "intolerable risks to safety and mission success," the administration had argued.
“Navy personnel routinely operate for extended periods of time in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses, where mitigation measures such as distancing are impractical or impossible. A SEAL who falls ill not only cannot complete his or her own mission, but risks infecting others as well, particularly in close quarters, including on submarines,” Biden administration lawyers wrote.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year made vaccinations mandatory for service members. Navy guidelines allow for exemptions to the vaccine requirement on religious and other grounds, including medical reasons and if a servicemember is about to leave the Navy. The Biden administration says the Navy has received more than 4,000 requests for religious exemptions, but it said that as of the start of February only about 80 had been fully adjudicated. It said one religious exemption had been granted.
Lawyers for the group of sailors that sued had argued that the Navy had granted hundreds of non-religious exemptions. They said that in asking the high court to allow vaccine status to be considered, the Navy was seeking “license to engage in hostile tactics designed to coerce plaintiffs into disregarding their religious beliefs.”
Lower courts had denied the Biden administration's plea to be allowed to consider vaccination status. That includes a federal judge in Texas, Reed O'Connor, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. Two of those judges were appointees of former President Donald Trump while the third was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan. | https://www.journal-news.com/nation-world/high-court-gives-biden-win-for-now-in-navy-vaccine-case/PF64AJRPR5HU5AP6LNCRP5YBCI/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:53 | en | 0.983384 |
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The defense ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh says three of its soldiers were killed in a strike by Azerbaijani drones.
The Friday incident raised concerns about the stability of a cease-fire that ended the 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory. More than 5,500 soldiers were killed in the six-week war that ended with Azerbaijan regaining areas surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that had been under Armenian control since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
Most of Nagorno-Karabakh itself remains under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, although it is within Azerbaijan. The cease-fire was mediated by Russia, which then sent some 2,000 troops it called peacekeepers to the region.
The ministry did not give details of the attack. Nagorno-Karabakh ombudsman Gegam Stepanian said 14 others were wounded. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Nagorno-Karabakh-says-3-soldiers-killed-in-drone-17029447.php | 2022-03-25T20:55:57 | en | 0.981096 |
FORT HOOD, Texas – The Directorate of Emergency Services has temporarily closed South Range Road on Fort Hood, from 53rd Street to Murphy Road, due to large amounts of smoke being generated from fires burning on small-arm ranges in the southern training areas.
There is no immediate threat to buildings or personnel on the installation at this time.
Fort Hood officials are asking drivers to be aware of this road closure, and to take extra time and caution when driving through the smoky areas.
Fort Hood Directorate of Emergency Services Reports that the Cold Springs Fire burned about 100 acres, and is 90 percent contained.
The Leader Reaction Course fire burned about 800 acres and is about 60 percent contained.
The DES and US Fish and Wildlife are currently conducting back burn operations at Leadership Reaction Course [LRC] Fire to achieve 100 percent containment and reduce fuel loads around the infrastructure in the area. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/large-amounts-of-smoke-at-fort-hood-causing-road-closure/ | 2022-03-25T20:55:56 | en | 0.953567 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/articles/38946246 | 2022-03-25T20:55:57 | en | 0.738227 |
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The defense ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh says three of its soldiers were killed in a strike by Azerbaijani drones.
The Friday incident raised concerns about the stability of a cease-fire that ended the 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory. More than 5,500 soldiers were killed in the six-week war that ended with Azerbaijan regaining areas surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that had been under Armenian control since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
Most of Nagorno-Karabakh itself remains under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, although it is within Azerbaijan. The cease-fire was mediated by Russia, which then sent some 2,000 troops it called peacekeepers to the region.
The ministry did not give details of the attack. Nagorno-Karabakh ombudsman Gegam Stepanian said 14 others were wounded. | https://www.journal-news.com/nation-world/nagorno-karabakh-says-3-soldiers-killed-in-drone-attack/5MSB2YS5IZHK5AOCU3ZLUHCAFM/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:00 | en | 0.981096 |
Two adults and a juvenile were taken into custody when Temple police responded to a burglar alarm Thursday night, but as it turned out, the would-be burglars got nothing for their trouble but more trouble.
Police were sent to a business in the 2700 block of Ira Young Drive at 11:27 p.m. when the alarm was triggered.
Witnesses told officers they saw two males and a female leaving heading south.
Officers found two doors of the business damaged but apparently they were unsuccessful in getting inside.
Police located three suspects nearby and took two males into custody and after she was processed, released the juvenile girl to her guardian.
Booked into the Bell County Jail were18-year-old Angelo Ray Ramos and 17-year-old Mickey Josiah Chadwick.
Bond had not been set as of Friday afternoon. | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/two-adults-and-juvenile-girl-detained-in-temple-burglary/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:03 | en | 0.992544 |
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Gov. Kristi Noem has vetoed a bill what would have removed old marijuana charges from South Dakotans’ criminal background checks.
The Rapid City Journal reported Friday that Noem had vetoed the bill. The measure would have automatically removed simple marijuana charges and convictions from public background records if the the violation was more than five years old. The person also would have had to fulfill sentencing and probation requirements and have no subsequent arrests.
The governor said in a letter to legislators that the bill would have allowed someone convicted of marijuana chares to hide their criminal history.
The bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Mike Rohl, said he doesn’t think he can muster enough votes between the House and Senate to override the veto. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Noem-vetoes-bill-removing-pot-charges-from-17029385.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:03 | en | 0.974195 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/articles/38946335 | 2022-03-25T20:56:03 | en | 0.738227 |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — About 300 people were killed in the Russian airstrike last week on a Mariupol theater that was being used as a shelter, Ukrainian authorities said Friday in what would make it the war's deadliest known attack on civilians yet.
Meanwhile, in what could signal an important narrowing of Moscow’s war aims, the U.S. said Russian forces appear to have halted, at least for now, their ground offensive aimed at capturing the capital, Kyiv, and are concentrating more on gaining control of the Donbas region in the country's southeast — a shift the Kremlin seemed to confirm.
Col.-Gen Sergei Rudskoi, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, said the main objective of the first stage of the operation — reducing Ukraine's fighting capacity — has "generally been accomplished,” allowing Russian forces to focus on “the main goal, liberation of Donbas.”
The seeming shift in Moscow’s stated military objectives — after weeks in which Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign country and appeared bent on capturing many of its cities and toppling its government — could point to a possible exit strategy for Russia, which has run into fiercer resistance and suffered heavier losses than anticipated.
In fact, the Russians are no longer in full control of Kherson, the first major city to fall to Moscow’s forces, a senior U.S. defense official said. The official said the southern city is being contested by the Ukrainians in heavy fighting. The Kremlin denied it had lost full control.
The Donbas is the largely Russian-speaking eastern part of the country where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014 and where many residents desire close ties to Moscow. Its coal-mining and industrial Donetsk and Luhansk regions are recognized by Russia as independent.
In Mariupol, the bloodshed at the theater fueled allegations Moscow is committing war crimes by killing civilians, whether deliberately or by indiscriminate fire.
For days, the government in the besieged and ruined port city was unable to give a casualty count for the March 16 bombardment of the grand, columned Mariupol Drama Theater, where hundreds of people were said to be taking cover, the word "CHILDREN" printed in Russian in huge white letters on the ground outside to ward off aerial attack.
In announcing the death toll on its Telegram channel Friday, the city government cited eyewitnesses. But it was not immediately clear how witnesses arrived at the figure or whether emergency workers had finished excavating the ruins.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the theater bombing was an "absolute shock, particularly given the fact that it was so clearly a civilian target.” He said it showed “a brazen disregard for the lives of innocent people.”
The Ukrainian Parliament’s human rights commissioner said soon after the attack that more than 1,300 people had taken shelter in the theater, many of them because their homes had been destroyed. The building had a basement bomb shelter, and some survivors did emerge from the rubble after the attack.
“This is a barbaric war, and according to international conventions, deliberate attacks on civilians are war crimes,” said Mircea Geoana, NATO’s deputy-secretary general.
He said Putin's efforts to break Ukraine's will to resist are having the opposite effect: "What he's getting in response is an even more determined Ukrainian army and an ever more united West in supporting Ukraine.”
While the Russians continue to pound the capital from the air, they appear to have gone into a “defensive crouch” outside Kyiv and are focused more on the Donbas, the senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment.
“They don’t show any signs of being willing to move on Kyiv from the ground,” the official said.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces have been counterattacking and have been able to reoccupy towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Kyiv as Russian troops fall back on their overextended supply lines. In the south, logistical problems and Ukrainian resistance are slowing the Russians as they look to drive west toward the port of Odesa, the ministry said.
The Russian military said 1,351 of its soldiers have died in Ukraine and 3,825 have been wounded, though it was not immediately clear if that included the separatists in the east or others not part of the Defense Ministry, such as the National Guard. Earlier this week, NATO estimated that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of fighting.
For civilians, the misery is growing more severe in Ukrainian towns and cities, which increasingly resemble the ruins that Russian forces left behind in their campaigns in Syria and Chechnya.
In the village of Yasnohorodka, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Kyiv, Russian troops who were there earlier in the week appeared to have been pushed out as part of a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.
The tower of the village church was damaged by a blast, and houses on the main crossroads lay in ruins.
“You can see for yourself what happened here. People were killed here. Our soldiers were killed here,” said Yasnohorodka resident Valeriy Puzakov.
As for Mariupol, "nothing remains of Mariupol,” said Evgeniy Sokyrko, who was among those waiting for an evacuation train in Zaporizhzhia, a way station for refugees from the shattered port city. “In the last week, there have been explosions like I’ve never heard before.”
Oksana Abramova, 42, said she ached for those left behind in the city, who have been cut off from communication with the shelling of cell, radio and TV towers and do not have the means to escape.
“All the time I think about how they are, where they are. Are still hiding, are they alive? Or maybe they are no longer there," she said.
In Kyiv, ashes of the dead are piling up at the main crematorium because so many relatives have left, leaving urns unclaimed. And the northern city of Chernihiv is all but cut off after Russian forces destroyed bridges, leaving people without power, water and heat, authorities said.
For the vulnerable — the elderly, children and others unable to join millions heading westward — food shortages are mounting in a country once known as the breadbasket for the world.
In relentlessly shelled Kharkiv, hundreds of panicked people took shelter in the subway, and a hospital emergency room filled with wounded soldiers and civilians.
Mostly elderly women lined up stoically to collect food and other urgent supplies this week, as explosions thudded in the distance. Fidgeting with anticipation, a young girl watched as a volunteer’s knife cut through a giant slab of cheese, carving out thick slices, one for each hungry person.
“Among those who stayed, there are people who can walk on their own, but many who cannot walk, the elderly,” Hanna Spitsyna said. “All these people need diapers, swaddle blankets and food."
___
Rosa reported from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Robert Burns in Washington and journalists around the world contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP's coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Credit: Felipe Dana
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Credit: Petr David Josek | https://www.journal-news.com/nation-world/russia-may-shift-war-aims-300-reported-dead-in-theater/TDI2XGTMGFBWFLSQ7TN65EMZZI/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:06 | en | 0.970709 |
WACO, TX — Baylor standout LJ Cryer announced on Twitter, that he had surgery to repair stress fractures on both of his feet. Cryer missed a significant amount of time in the second half of the season, due to lingering pain he was feeling. Cryer said he expects to be back in plenty of time for the 2022-2023 basketball season. | https://www.fox44news.com/sports/baylor/lj-cryer-announces-he-had-surgery-on-both-feet/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:09 | en | 0.984736 |
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's unemployment rate fell further below 4% in February, the state Commerce Department said on Friday, as the rolls of the unemployed continued to fall.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 3.7% compared to 3.9% unemployment in January — extending a streak in which the state hasn’t logged a month-over-month rising rate since September 2020. The December rate was 4.1%.
The number of those unemployed declined by over 10,150 people to about 187,250, a department news release said, while those working grew by 18,100 to almost 4.83 million people.
With another counting format based on monthly worksite surveys, the agency reported seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment rose by 22,400 to almost 4.69 million. The leisure and hospitality services industry and professional and business services sector saw the largest percentage increases in employment in February.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, citing state economists, said last week that the state’s economy had recovered to pre-pandemic employment levels last July. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/North-Carolina-unemployment-rate-falls-to-3-7-in-17029291.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:09 | en | 0.968135 |
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers voted Friday to override GOP Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of legislation banning transgender youth athletes from playing on girls teams — a move that comes amid a nationwide culture war over transgender issues.
Before the veto, the ban received support from a majority of Utah lawmakers, but fell short of the two-thirds needed to override it. Its sponsors on Friday successfully flipped 10 Republicans in the House and five in the Senate who had previously voted against the proposal.
Cox was the second GOP governor this week to overrule lawmakers on a sports-participation ban, and his veto letter drew national attention with a poignant argument that such laws target vulnerable kids who already have high rates of suicide attempts. Business leaders are sounding the alarm that it could have a multimillion-dollar economic impact for the state, including the possible loss of the NBA All-Star Game next year.
But the ban won support from a vocal conservative base that has particular sway in Utah’s state primary season. Even with primaries looming, however, some Republicans stood with Cox to reject the ban.
"I cannot support this bill. I cannot support the veto override and if it costs me my seat so be it. I will do the right thing, as I always do,” said Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher.
With the override of Cox’s veto, Utah becomes the 12th state to enact some sort of ban on transgender kids in school sports. The state's law takes effect July 1.
Not long ago efforts to regulate transgender kids' participation in school sports failed to gain traction in statehouses, but in the past two years groups like the American Principles Project began a coordinated effort to promote the legislation throughout the country. Since last year, bans have been introduced in at least 25 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This week, Arizona and Oklahoma passed bans and sent them to governors for final approval.
“You start these fights and inject them into politics,” said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. “You pass them in a few states and it starts to take on a life of its own and becomes organic. We helped start this fight and we’re helping carry it through, but a lot of this is coming from the local level.”
Leaders in the deeply conservative Utah say they need the law to protect women’s sports. As cultural shifts raise LGBTQ visibility, the lawmakers argue that, without their intervention, more transgender athletes with apparent physical advantages could eventually dominate the field and change the nature of women’s sports.
Utah has only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. There have been no allegations of any of the four transgender youth athletes in Utah having a competitive advantage.
The owner of the Utah Jazz, tech entrepreneur Ryan Smith, tweeted opposition to the bill, saying it was “rushed, flawed and won’t hold up over time. I’m hopeful we can find a better way.”
The team is also partially owned by NBA all-star Dwyane Wade, who has a transgender daughter.
Salt Lake City is set to host the NBA All-Star game in February 2023. League spokesman Mike Bass has said the league is “working closely” with the Jazz on the matter.
The group Visit Salt Lake, which hosts conferences, shows and events, said the override could cost the state $50 million in lost revenue. The Utah-based DNA-testing genealogy giant Ancestry.com also urged the Legislature to find another way.
The American Principles Project is confident that states with bans won’t face boycotts like North Carolina did after limiting public restrooms transgender people could use. It focused on legislation in populous, economic juggernaut states like Texas and Florida that would be harder to boycott, Schilling said.
On Thursday and Friday, demonstrators both in favor of and against a ban rallied at the Utah’s Capitol, spotlighting what they saw as its potential effects.
Utah has historically been among the nation’s most conservative states. But an influx of new residents and technology companies coupled with the growing influence of the tourism industry often sets the stage for heated debate over social issues in the state home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Friday’s deliberations came after more than a year of debate and negotiation between social conservatives and LGBTQ advocates. Republican sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland worked with Cox and civil rights activists at Equality Utah before introducing legislation that would require transgender student-athletes to go before a government-appointed commission.
The proposal, although framed as a compromise, failed to gain traction on either side. LGBTQ advocates took issue with Republican politicians appointing commission members and evaluation criteria that included body measurements such as hip-to-knee ratio.
Then, in the final hours before the Legislature was set to adjourn earlier this month, GOP lawmakers supplanted the legislation with an all-out ban.
Birkeland, who is also a basketball coach, acknowledged the proposal had provoked emotion and criticism, but said conversations with female student athletes compelled her to continue her effort.
“When we say, ‘This isn’t a problem in our state,’ what we say to those girls is, ‘Sit down, be quiet and make nice,'" she said.
Lawmakers anticipate court challenges similar to blocked bans in Idaho and West Virginia. Utah’s policy would revert to the commission if courts halt the ban.
The looming threat of a lawsuit worries school districts and the Utah High School Athletic Association, which has said it lacks the funds to defend the policy in court. Later Friday, lawmakers are expected to change the bill so state money would cover legal fees.
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Samuel Metz
Credit: Samuel Metz
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Rick Bowmer
Credit: Rick Bowmer
Credit: Rick Bowmer
Credit: Rick Bowmer
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Kristin Murphy
Credit: Samuel Metz
Credit: Samuel Metz | https://www.journal-news.com/nation-world/utah-bans-transgender-athletes-in-girls-sports-despite-veto/L22NPR75ARADZDPBZS7O2LLEMU/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:13 | en | 0.963544 |
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Lowering the price of lifesaving drugs is top of mind for many in Congress. The issue is the focus of several different pieces of legislation.
Lawmakers say many Americans are struggling to afford the medication they need. Debra Tyler-Horton with Georgia’s AARP is advocating for legislation that will help seniors with the rising costs.
“Seniors are sick and tired of being pharma’s piggybank and funding their high profits,” Tyler-Horton said.
It’s a problem lawmakers want to solve. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is introducing a bill to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare.
“It is unconscionable that our country would allow our seniors to go without the medication they need to live healthy lives, because of high costs,” Warnock said.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is co-sponsoring Sen, Warnock’s other bill to cap the price of insulin at $35. Both also support a measure to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs.
“I’m going to continue working to get the job done on this much-needed reform,” Baldwin said. “Because not only does it save patients money, it saves taxpayers money.”
Democrats are hopeful this is an issue that can get traction with Republicans too. They’re ready to negotiate.
“If somebody has got an idea, I’ve got an idea, we put those ideas together,” Warnock said.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., believes this can be a bipartisan push.
“Capping prices may not be where the consensus is but something that leads to lower prices – much, much lower prices – is, I think, on everybody’s radar screens,” Capito said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring the insulin legislation to the Senate floor in the next few weeks.
“There should be nothing remotely partisan about making sure Americans don’t go broke to manage their diabetes,” Schumer said. | https://www.fox44news.com/washington/washington-dc/lowering-prescription-prices-high-priority-for-some-lawmakers/ | 2022-03-25T20:56:15 | en | 0.945891 |
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MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Democratic Party endorsed two candidates for statewide offices on Friday, but tabled nominations for six other seats currently held by Republicans.
Participants at the convention in Minot voted to back Bismarck attorney Fintan Dooley for state Agriculture Commissioner, a position Doug Goehring has held since 2009. Democrats also endorsed Melanie Moniz, a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, for the seat on the public service commission currently held by Julie Fedorchak, who has been on the panel since 2012.
Democrats are expected to finish endorsements on Saturday.
Former Marine and Velva native Trygve Hammer announced this week that he would seek the second seat on the public service commission held by Republican Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, who was appointed to replace Brian Kroshus when Kroshus was appointed to be state tax commissioner. Haugen-Hoffart is running for the remainder of Kroshus’ four-year term.
The PSC regulates gas and electric utilities, coal mining, land reclamation, grain elevators and auctioneers.
Democrats have no announced candidates for attorney general, secretary of state, tax commissioner or the U.S. House of Representatives.
Two candidates have emerged for John Hoeven’s U.S. Senate seat: University of Jamestown engineering professor Katrina Christiansen and Fargo art and antiques dealer Michael Steele.
North Dakota Republicans have controlled both chambers of the Legislature since 1994 and hold every statewide office.
Just over 200 delegates attended the convention Friday, including 81 who participated online. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/North-Dakota-Dems-back-candidates-for-statewide-17029349.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:15 | en | 0.956755 |
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California parole commissioners on Friday recommended parole for the last of three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of children for $5 million ransom in 1976.
The two commissioners decided Frederick Woods, now age 70, is no longer a danger to the public after previous panels had denied him parole 17 times.
The parole recommendation by Commissioner Patricia Cassady and Deputy Commissioner Keith Stanton could still be rejected by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Woods’ accomplices, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, were freed years ago. An appeals court ordered Richard Schoenfeld released in 2012, and former Gov. Jerry Brown paroled James Schoenfeld in 2015.
All three were from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families when they kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver near Chowchilla.
They buried the children, ages 5 to 14, along with their bus driver in a ventilated underground bunker east of San Francisco. The victims were able to dig their way out more than a day later.
Woods read an apology for his crime, according to a pool report from Friday's hearing by CBS News producer George Osterkamp.
“I’ve had empathy for the victims which I didn’t have then,” Woods said. “I’ve had a character change since then.”
“I was 24 years old," he added. "Now I fully understand the terror and trauma I caused. I fully take responsibility for this heinous act.”
California law now requires parole commissioners to give greater weight to freeing inmates who were youthful offenders when they committed their crime, and those who are now elderly and have served lengthy prison sentences.
All three were initially sentenced to prison for the rest of their lives. However, an appeals court later reduced their sentences to life with the possibility of parole.
The three planned for more than a year to ransom the children for $5 million from the state Board of Education.
James Schoenfeld once told parole officials that he envied friends who had “his-and-hers Ferraris.” Woods said during an earlier parole hearing that he just “got greedy.”
Madera County prosecutors in previous parole hearings said Woods' disciplinary infractions showed he had not yet learned to follow the rules.
But Woods and his attorney, Dominique Banos, emphasized that he had a discipline-free record since his last parole hearing in October 2019.
They also previously questioned why some of the victims testified that Woods should be released, although others previously said he deserved to remain behind bars.
Two survivors, Larry Park and Rebecca Reynolds Dailey, spoke Friday in favor of Woods' parole.
But opposing Woods' release were survivors Jennifer Brown Hyde and Laura Yazzi Fanning; Matthew Medrano, son of survivor Jodi Heffington Medrano who has since died; and Carol Marshall, mother of survivor Michael Marshall, and Lynda Carrejo.
Woods and his attorney were at the California Men's Colony prison in San Luis Obispo, while other participants were in remote locations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Woods' parole has also previously been backed by some prominent supporters, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo of Palo Alto in 2015. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Parole-recommended-for-inmate-in-1976-school-bus-17029367.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:27 | en | 0.980089 |
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CORYDON, Ind. (AP) — A man suspected in an Evansville double-homicide died early Friday when his vehicle crashed about 100 miles (161 kilometers) away in southern Indiana during a police pursuit, state police said.
Samuel Aaron Robb, 30, of Valparaiso, died about 5 a.m. EDT after his car became airborne along State Road 135 in Harrison County, struck a utility pole and came to rest upside down, Indiana State Police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner.
The crash occurred after a state trooper tried to stop Robb after spotting him in his car it in a hotel parking lot in the town of Corydon, but he sped off at a high rate of speed and the trooper pursued him, police said.
Authorities had been advised to be on the lookout for Robb and his vehicle after he was identified as a suspect in a double homicide that occurred late Thursday night in Evansville, police said.
State police said in a statement that “the investigation reveals that the driver was, in fact, the suspect wanted in connection with the two murders in Evansville" and identified him as Robb.
Evansville police have not released information about the two homicide victims. Officers found two bodies in an Evansville home about 11:30 p.m. CDT after a 911 caller stated that she was inside a residence where shots had been fired, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Police-Suspect-in-Evansville-double-homicide-17029200.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:40 | en | 0.988367 |
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PARKLAND, Wash. (AP) — A memorial for slain Pierce County deputy Dominique “Dom” Calata was underway Friday in Tacoma.
Calata, 35, was shot and killed last week during a SWAT operation in which law enforcement Sgt. Rich Scaniffe was shot and wounded.
A procession began Friday morning at the Washington State Fairgrounds, following a route that concluded at the Church for All Nations in Parkland. A memorial service started around 1 p.m. at the church.
The South Sound Gang Task Force was serving a warrant March 16 for second-degree assault for Jeremy Dayton, 40. The task force had asked for help from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department’s SWAT team due to Dayton’s prior felony convictions, according to Wendy Haddow, a spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department, which is assisting with the investigation.
During the operation, gunfire was exchanged between Dayton and law enforcement, Haddow said. Calata and Scaniffe were shot. Dayton was killed at the scene.
Calata worked for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for more than six years and was assigned to the patrol division of the Edgewood Police Department. He was also a U.S. Army Veteran and served in the National Guard for the past seven years. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Procession-memorial-for-slain-Pierce-County-17029312.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:46 | en | 0.981839 |
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — State regulators are considering suspending Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson in light of his drunken driving conviction in December.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday that the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training began an investigation shortly after Hutchinson crashed his county-owned SUV near Alexandria on Dec. 8. He acknowledged he had been drinking at a sheriff's conference.
The sheriff was driving more than 126 miles per hour, wasn't wearing a seat belt and was carrying a loaded gun when he crashed. His blood alcohol level was more than 0.13% about three hours after the crash. Minnesota's legal limit is 0.08% but drops to 0.04% for anyone driving with a gun.
Hutchinson pleaded guilty to fourth-degree misdemeanor drunken driving and was sentenced to two years on probation.
The board is considering suspending Hutchinson's law enforcement license, which would render him unable to work as sworn officer and unable to make arrests. He could continue to work for the sheriff's department performing tasks not associated with sworn police work, the Star Tribune reported.
Hutchinson's attorney, March Schneider, declined to comment. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Regulators-may-suspend-sheriff-after-drunken-crash-17029345.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:52 | en | 0.983248 |
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LONDON (AP) — The 25-foot tall (7.6 meter) sculpture of a shark crashing through the roof of Magnus Hanson-Heine’s house in rural Oxford, England, is now a protected landmark — and he’s not happy about it.
Hanson-Heine loves the installation, erected by his father and a local sculptor in 1986 as an anti-war, anti-nuke protest that still remains relevant now as bombs fall on Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin rattles his nuclear weapons.
But he says the Oxford City Council ignored his father’s other message this week when it designated the structure a heritage site that makes a “special contribution” to the community. Bill Heine installed the shark without the approval of local officials because he didn’t think they should have the right to decide what art people see, and the council spent years trying to remove the sculpture.
“Using the planning apparatus to preserve a historical symbol of planning law defiance is absurd on the face of it,” Hanson-Heine, a quantum chemist, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Bill Heine, an American expat who studied law at the University of Oxford, got the idea for the sculpture after he heard U.S. warplanes fly over his house one night in April 1986. When he woke up the next morning, he learned that the planes had been on their way to bomb Tripoli in retaliation for Libyan sponsorship of terrorist attacks on U.S. troops.
The image of a shark crashing through the roof captured the shock civilians must feel when bombs smash into their homes, Magnus Hanson-Heine said. His father died in 2019.
Heine and his friend sculptor John Buckley built the great white out of fiberglass, then installed it on Aug. 9, the 41st anniversary of the day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
The shark’s anti-war message is just as important today as Russian bombs fall on Ukraine, Henson-Heine said.
“That’s obviously something that the people in Ukraine are experiencing right now in very real time,” he said. “But certainly when there’s nuclear weapons on the stage, which has been through my entire life, that’s always a very real threat.”
But the sight of three-quarters of a great white shark sticking out of the roof of a row of brick houses on a quiet suburban street isn’t always a serious subject.
The shark house has its own website, which features photos of Bill Heine and Buckley sharing a glass of wine alongside the sculpture and a young passer-by in a pose that makes it look as if she’s eating the shark.
Hanson-Heine recently had it repainted to restore the blue-green shimmer to the shark’s hide — keeping it in tip-top shape.
He laughs when asked whether the shark's head can be found inside the house.
“I believe it was an urban myth for a while that it was poking above the toilet,'' he said. “But no.” | https://www.chron.com/news/article/UK-Shark-House-owner-dismayed-at-getting-17029245.php | 2022-03-25T20:56:58 | en | 0.962876 |
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LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — For a month now, Russian forces have repeatedly attacked Ukrainian medical facilities, striking at hospitals, ambulances, medics, patients and even newborns — with at least 34 assaults independently documented by The Associated Press.
With every new attack, the public outcry for war crimes prosecutions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, his generals and top Kremlin advisers grows louder.
To convict, prosecutors will need to show that the attacks are not merely accidents or collateral damage. The emerging pattern, tracked day by day by the AP, shows evidence of a consistent and relentless onslaught against the very civilian infrastructure designed to save lives and provide safe haven to Ukraine’s most vulnerable.
AP journalists in Ukraine have seen the deadly results of Russian strikes on civilian targets first hand: the final moments of children whose tiny bodies were shredded by shrapnel or had limbs blown off; dozens of corpses, including those of children, heaped into mass graves.
Deliberate attacks on hospitals will likely be a top priority for war crimes prosecutors.
___
This story is part of an ongoing investigation from The Associated Press and Frontline that includes the War Crimes Watch Ukraine interactive experience and an upcoming documentary.
___
This accounting of attacks on medical facilities is part of a larger effort by the AP and the PBS series Frontline to track evidence of potential war crimes committed during the one of the largest conflicts in Europe since the end of World War II.
The War Crimes Watch project launched by AP and Frontline includes details of apparent targeted attacks as well as indiscriminate destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure. The AP/Frontline online database will continue to be updated as long as the conflict lasts. The goal is to provide an independent accounting of events, apart from potentially inflated claims by advocates, or misinformation spread by state-backed propaganda.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirms at least 1,035 civilians, including 90 children, have died in the four weeks since the start of the war. Another 1,650 civilians have been wounded. Those numbers are certainly an undercount since scores of bodies now lie under the rubble of demolished buildings or were hurriedly buried in mass graves.
Still, Russian officials have denied hitting civilian targets, deriding the mounting documentation of atrocities as “Fake News” and claiming without evidence that dead and wounded civilians photographed were “crisis actors.”
Military attacks on civilian populations and their property are generally forbidden under international laws governing armed conflicts going back more than a century. Attacks on medical facilities and staff are considered particularly heinous under international law, which stipulates they must be protected. Still, bombing a hospital is not necessarily a war crime. Prosecutors must show that the destruction is intentional or reckless.
But the evidence of such attacks in Ukraine verified by AP and Frontline is both mounting and horrendous, and belies Russian claims that they were staged, self-inflicted or militarily justified.
Among the most thoroughly documented strikes was the March 9 bombing of a children’s and maternity hospital in Mariupol. Two AP journalists, the last international media to remain in the city after it was encircled by Russian forces, arrived at the hospital minutes after the explosion.
They saw a smoldering two-story deep crater in the interior courtyard, surrounded by the twisted and burned remains of several cars. The force of the explosion tore the facades off three surrounding buildings, blowing out the windows and wrecking rooms inside.
The AP journalists took photos and video of stunned survivors coming out of the hospital. A pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher held her belly, blood staining her sweatpants, her face pale. She later died, as did her baby.
Another pregnant woman, Mariana Vishegirskaya, her face bloodied, clutched her belongings in a plastic bag and made her way down a set of debris-strewn stairs and out of the ruined hospital.
Vishegirskaya was taken to another nearby hospital, Mariupol Regional Intensive Care, where she gave birth the following day to a baby girl she named Veronika.
Kremlin officials admitted Russian aircraft had struck the hospital but insisted all patients and staff had been evacuated prior to the bombing. At a U.N. Security Council meeting the day after the strike, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed the wounded pregnant women were “crisis actors,” playing the part of victims to frame Russia.
The assaults on medical facilities in Ukraine began with at least two attacks on the very first day of the war.
On Feb. 24, a local media organization posted a photo on Twitter of City Children’s Hospital No. 1 in Donetsk, struck by an artillery shell that damaged its top floor. AP found that the photo matches the pictures of the hospital from before the war.
Another photo posted on Twitter showed a large explosion and fire at Central City Hospital in Vuhledar, along with the crumpled nose cone of a rocket. Four civilians were killed.
Chris Weakley, a former U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, identified the cone as coming from a Russian Tochka ballistic missile, used to carry cluster munitions.
The stockpiling and use of cluster munitions is banned under an international convention signed by 110 countries, but Russia and Ukraine are not among them. However, their use in civilian areas is by definition indiscriminate — a violation of international humanitarian law.
Kharkiv Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 1 was also struck by a cluster bomb munition, wounding one staff member. Photos posted on the hospital’s social media account show an unexploded bomblet. Weakley identified it as a Russian-made 9N235 cluster submunition.
AP video from March 11 shows damage to ambulances and buildings at Dergachi Central Hospital, including expended cluster rocket canisters impaled in the ground. Weakley identified them as Russian-made 9M27K cargo rockets, which carry the same bomblets found in Kharkiv.
David Crane, who served as chief prosecutor of a United Nations-sponsored war crimes tribunal over atrocities committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, said what is happening in Ukraine is worthy of prosecution.
“The bottom line is this is medieval warfare in the Ukraine,” Crane said. “It’s precisely the sort of warfare that the laws of armed conflict were designed to prevent."
___
AP Investigative Reporter Michael Biesecker reported from Washington and News Verification Reporter Beatrice Dupuy from New York. AP reporters Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeny Maloletka in Mariupol, Ukraine, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Lebanon; Jason Dearen and Larry Fenn in New York; Juliet Linderman in Baltimore; Joshua Goodman in Miami; Richard Lardner and Helen Wieffering in Washington; Lori Hinnant in Paris; and James LaPorta in Wilmington, North Carolina, contributed. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/War-Crimes-Watch-Russia-s-onslaught-on-Ukrainian-17029302.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:04 | en | 0.960015 |
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A nearly $17 billion, 16-year transportation revenue package that will pay for a variety of projects across the state, including building four new hybrid electric ferries, was signed Friday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
Inslee split his signing ceremonies between two cities, starting the morning at the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal to sign the revenue portion of the package. Later in the afternoon, he was to head to Tacoma to sign the bill that covers the projects paid for by the package.
"There is no way to tackle climate change without tackling transportation and that’s what these bills do,” Inslee said. “In this package we’re entwining the ability to get better, more efficient transportation with the way to save our climate.”
The plan gets $5.4 billion of its funding from a carbon pricing program signed into law last year that requires the state’s largest emitters, like refineries, to purchase credits for allowed emissions if they exceed a cap set by regulators. The rest comes from several other sources, including federal infrastructure money, funding from the state budget, and higher fees on enhanced licenses and license plates.
In addition to the new ferries, it electrifies two existing ferries and provides funding for more walking and biking corridors, highway maintenance and fulfilling the state’s court-ordered obligation to replace fish passage culverts. Funding is also provided to ensure that those age 18 and younger can ride for free on public transportation, including the state's ferries and Amtrak.
It also pays for the state’s share of the cost — $1 billion — to replace the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River that connects Washington and Oregon.
Republicans, who are the minority party in both chambers, continued to express frustration that they weren’t part of what has normally been a bipartisan process in the past, and said that the new fees people will pay will affect residents already dealing with high inflation and rising gas prices.
The cost for a new enhanced license or ID, which people will ultimately need to fly domestically under the REAL ID Act if they don’t have a passport or other qualifying identification, will increase from the current $78 for a six-year license to $96. And the cost for a license plate for a new car will increase from $10 to $50.
And the fee new residents pay when first registering their car in Washington to check that it isn’t stolen will increase from $15 to $50 on July 1 and then to $75 in 2026.
Rep. Andrew Barkis, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, said that his proposal to use and redirect existing revenues in a way that would have avoided fee increases were not considered.
“We do need to address our transportation system," he said. “This process cut out the entirety of the Republican delegation. We were not considered in the policy."
Democratic Sen. Marko Liias, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the package is “changing the framework for how we approach transportation forever in this state.”
“No longer will it be how much concrete we can pour,” he said. “The answer will be how many people and how much freight can we move on these corridors.” | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Washington-governor-signs-17-billion-17029323.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:11 | en | 0.958193 |
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The Dropkick Murphys are hitting back against a neo-Nazi group that used one of the rock band's songs in a video posted on social media.
The rowdy rockers from Boston condemned the use of the song “The Boys are Back” in a tweet, while the band's attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to the group as well as to the platform that shared the video.
After calling them “losers,” the band wrote “Stop using our song for your little dress up party video. We will SMASH you,” in response to a tweet from a man who confronted the group at South Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade last weekend.
About a dozen masked members of the group, known as NSC 131 or the Nationalist Social Club, attended Sunday's parade as spectators and held up a banner that said “Keep Boston Irish.” Their appearance was denounced by the parade's organizers and Mayor Michelle Wu.
The video posted on the video-sharing platform Odysee documents the group's appearance at the parade as the song containing the refrain “The boys are back, and they're looking for trouble” plays.
“DKM has not (and would not, ever, in a million years) authorize or license to NSC 131 the right to use or exploit the Recording and/or Composition in the video in question or any similar video,” said the cease-and-desist letter dated Tuesday from the band's Los Angeles-based attorneys. A publicist for the band confirmed the letter's authenticity on Friday.
It went on to say: “We’ll take your immediate compliance as confirmation that you received this letter. If, however, you fail to immediately comply, then my client and their designees and assignees are prepared to take whatever legal action they deem necessary and appropriate to protect their rights in and to the Recording and Compensation, including, without limitation, seeking statutory and punitive damages for your copyright infringement.”
Odysee in an email to The Associated Press on Friday said it complies with copyright law, and the video was reviewed and subsequently taken down.
The Anti-Defamation League says NSC 131 is a New England-based neo-Nazi group founded in 2019 that “espouses racism, antisemitism and intolerance” and whose “membership is a collection of neo-Nazis and racist skinheads, many of whom have previous membership in other white supremacist groups.” | https://www.chron.com/news/article/We-will-SMASH-you-Dropkick-Murphys-feud-with-17028673.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:17 | en | 0.96055 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/articles/38946734 | 2022-03-25T20:57:22 | en | 0.738227 |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Saying Florida public schools are making sexually explicit books available to children, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday to give parents a say in what books schools can and can't have in their libraries.
It will force all elementary schools to provide a searchable list of every book available in their libraries or used in instruction. School boards must let the public know when they plan to consider approving new instructional books and allow anyone to comment. Any objections to the material, by a parent or not, must be reported to the state.
“Unfortunately, we've seen some books in some of these libraries, I mean you're talking about kids in middle school, some of the stuff that has ended up there is incredibly, incredibly disturbing stuff,” DeSantis said. “Parents understand when they see this. They understand how to blow the whistle on this.”
The bill also sets a 12-year term limit for school board members.
Democrats opposed the bill during the legislative session that ended earlier this month, saying that it amounts to censorship and compared it to book burning. But it aligns with DeSantis' agenda to squash school district decisions he disagrees with.
“You have some groups that want to take away classic books like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,' but they want things like, ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir,’ which is a cartoon-style book with graphic images of children performing sexual acts. That is wrong," DeSantis said. “They want to eliminate ’Of Mice and Men,' but ‘Lawn Boy,’ a book containing explicit passages of pedophilia is somehow accepted."
Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon said the bill is part of the governor's culture wars designed to help him win the 2024 Republican nomination for president.
“The governor's actions today and his words just illustrate his political ambitions. He cares more about rallying a base of people who will support him in a future presidential bid than he does about making sure Floridians have access to housing, have access to quality health care,” she said. “The bill he signed today is going to cause more stress and strain on school systems.”
The books DeSantis mentioned were political flashpoints in Texas and Virginia and were removed from libraries. Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin campaigned on the issue.
“Gender Queer” is an autobiography by Maia Kobabe, who was born female, but now identifies as nonbinary and asexual. The School Library Journal described it as a “book to be savored rather than devoured, this memoir will resonate with teens.”
“It’s also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand,” the review continues.
“Lawn Boy” is a semiautobiographical novel by Jonathan Evison. The Washington Post said, “Evison takes a battering ram to stereotypes about race and class" and said it's "spiked with angst and anger, but also full of humor and lots of hope."
After controversy about the book, Evison said he received death threats and explained that a passage some find objectionable is not about pedophilia, but rather an adult character recalling a sexual encounter he had as a fourth grader with another fourth grader.
DeSantis also used the bill signing ceremony to denounce critical race theory in schools, mask mandates in schools and Dr. Anthony Fauci. He also encouraged people to pay attention to school board races and vote members out.
“Florida now joins places like Russia and China, modern-day examples of what happens when free thought and free speech are tightly restricted in all levels of society, including in school,” Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said in a statement. “As a mom and a former classroom teacher — and simply an American who values freedom of speech — this is a very, very scary place to be.” | https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/DeSantis-signs-bill-to-keep-explicit-books-out-of-17029306.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:23 | en | 0.97841 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/articles/38946832 | 2022-03-25T20:57:28 | en | 0.738227 |
Fourth-seeded Arkansas used what amounted to a sneak attack to take down No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, not only knocking the Bulldogs out the NCAA Tournament but taking out a whole lot of fans still hoping to win bragging rights and office pools.
Then again, the number of busted brackets before the Elite Eight just might mean everyone gets a second chance.
Defending national champion Baylor? The first No. 1 seed to go down. Gonzaga and Arizona, two more top seeds and betting favorites, joined the Bears on the sidelines in the Sweet 16. Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn? All ousted before the opening weekend was even done.
In the case of the John Calipari's bunch, that meant getting bumped by No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in the opening round, a loss that probably doesn't feel any better even with the Peacocks topping Murray State to reach the Sweet 16.
It all left exasperated SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm to say: “My bracket's busted. It's just so bad right now.”
Then, after a beat: “I do have a lot of company though.”
No kidding.
The Bulldogs were a 10-point favorite to beat the Razorbacks and Arizona a 1.5-point favorite to beat Houston on Thursday night. Instead, they became the first 1-seeds to lose on the same day in the Sweet 16 or earlier since the 2011 tourney.
“Just being the underdog, man, use it to your advantage,” Arkansas' Trey Wade said. “They never see you coming.”
Very few people did anyway.
There were 17.3 million brackets filled out in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge and just 8.3% of them had Arkansas reaching the Elite Eight, an less than half of those have the Hogs going to the Final Four. By contrast, nearly 23% of brackets had Gonzaga winning it all.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of brackets had Gonzaga, Baylor or Kentucky advancing through their half of the bracket to reach the final in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, more brackets (19.9%) had Houston losing in the first round than advancing to the Elite Eight (14.2%), even though the Cougars made it to the Sweet 16 in 2019 and the Final Four just last year.
Houston, by the way, is now the favorite to win it all, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, ahead of No. 2 seed Duke and Kansas, the lone remaining 1-seed entering Friday.
The quest for a perfect bracket in the men's tournament? The NCAA said that was over before last weekend, the moment that No. 11 seed Iowa State beat LSU on Friday night to eliminate the final two perfect brackets remaining after the first 24 games.
And with the Cyclones playing No. 10 seed Miami on Friday night, at least one double-digit seed will be in the Elite Eight.
“You get seeded a certain spot, who cares about that? I tell the team all the time, if you’re in the dance, you’ve got a darned good team because you earned your way into the dance," said Miami coach Jim Larrañaga, who knows all about busting up brackets after taking No. 11 seed George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.
“To me, it doesn’t matter what you’re seeded. It’s not reflective of who you are,” Larrañaga said. “It’s just a number put by your name to start the tournament. What matters is how you play and how you match up against your opponent."
Yet plenty of well-known prognosticators have had trouble figuring those matchups out.
Television star Jimmy Fallon lamented his fortunes after picking Gonzaga and Tennessee to reach the Final Four. Former President Barack Obama had the Bulldogs playing Arizona in the title game and he hasn't fared a whole lot better in the women's tournament, where he had Baylor advancing to the Final Four with South Carolina, UConn and Stanford. The Bears were upset by South Dakota in the second round.
“We don't need Barack Obama's bracket. We don't need Jimmy Fallon. We don't need none of that, OK?" said Hailey Van Lith, the star guard for the top-seeded Cardinals. “Look, we are still here. That is what it is.”
___
More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Busted-brackets-mark-another-topsy-turvy-NCAA-17029259.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:29 | en | 0.966106 |
Jamie Lee Curtis is set to officiate her daughter's upcoming nuptials, but she'll do so in costume.
"Today" and Entertainment Weekly reported that the 63-year-old "Halloween" star will be dressing up as Jaina Proudmoore from the video game series "World of Warcraft" when her daughter Ruby gets married in the actress's backyard in May.
In an interview Tuesday on "Live with Jimmy Kimmel," Curtis explained to the late-night TV show host that it's a cosplay (short for “costume play") wedding.
She told Kimmel that she bought the costume off Etsy, but it's coming from Russia, so she hopes it'll get to her in time for the wedding.
Ruby, who is transgender, is the youngest child of Curtis and her husband, Christopher Guest, the news outlets reported. | https://www.wtxl.com/entertainment/jamie-lee-curtis-to-officiate-daughter-rubys-wedding-as-world-of-warcraft-character | 2022-03-25T20:57:33 | en | 0.973324 |
A COVID-19 outbreak on the Japanese team at the women's curling world championships forced them to compete one player down in one match and forfeit another on Friday.
The team skipped by Ikue Kitazawa had been in playoff contention heading into the final day of the round-robin before losing 11-3 in six ends to first-place Switzerland in the morning. Neither Seina Nakajima nor alternate Chiaki Matsumura competed in the match.
The team then decided to forfeit against South Korea on Friday afternoon, its final match of the preliminary round. The World Curling Federation said in a statement that the other players tested negative but “decided that for the health and safety of everyone involved in the championship, forfeiting their game and avoiding the possibility of further positive results impacting the competition was the best decision.”
Curling teams usually compete with four players and have an alternate standing by in case of injury. At the Canadian championships earlier this month, a team skipped by two-time Olympic medalist Brad Gushue competed with three players after a positive COVID test and won the event.
Scotland began play at the women's worlds with three curlers, but withdrew after two matches following two more positive tests.
The women's world's returned to Prince George, British Columbia, after the 2020 event there was canceled because of the pandemic. | https://www.chron.com/sports/article/COVID-outbreak-hits-Japanese-team-at-women-s-17029292.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:35 | en | 0.978212 |
CHICAGO — A prominent bank executive is trading in his day job for a DJ booth at a music festival in Chicago this summer.
Goldman Sach's CEO David Solomon is set to perform at Lollapalooza, NBC Chicago and CNN reported.
"Excited to play Lollapalooza for the first time this summer," Solomon posted on social media, NBC News reported.
Solomon added that proceeds would benefit various non-profits in partnership with his record label, Payback Records.
According to CNN and NME, Solomon regularly DJs at Miami and New York clubs under the alias "D-Sol."
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told CNN that Solomon DJs four to six events each year, and all proceeds go to charity.
The BBC reported that Solomon, who has been with Goldman Sachs since 1999, made $35 million last year.
The festival will take place at Grant Park from July 28-31. | https://www.wtxl.com/lifestyle/goldman-sachs-ceo-to-dj-at-lollapalooza-in-july | 2022-03-25T20:57:39 | en | 0.966178 |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen announced Friday morning that he will retire in September after 38 years with FDLE.
"While I have thoroughly enjoyed my 38 years with FDLE, the time has come for FDLE to move in a new direction," he told members.
Swearingen was appointed to lead the agency in 2014 by then-Governor Rick Scott.
Before being appointed to the commissioner, he lead the Florida Capitol Police, where he was responsible for protecting the State Capitol complex.
Gov. DeSantis's office praised Swearingen's service to Florida and said that a candidate to replace him will be announced soon.
We are grateful to Commissioner Swearingen for the more than 30 years he has dedicated to public safety in Florida. While serving as Commissioner he has helped to prepare Florida against growing cybersecurity threats and helped local law enforcement improve their standards and methods to better protect their citizens from crime and violence. During his tenure, and during the governor’s first term in office, the state’s violent crime rate fell lower than the national violent crime rate for the first time since such data has been available.
We’re appreciative of his tenured service to the safety of all Floridians and look forward to bringing forward a new candidate in the near future. We will share details as they become available.
Gov. DeSantis Office | https://www.wtxl.com/news/florida-news/fdle-commissioner-rick-swearingen-to-retire-in-september | 2022-03-25T20:57:46 | en | 0.981562 |
ATLANTA, Ga. (WTXL) — Two judicial circuits in south Georgia received federal grant funding to combat pending cases.
The Judicial Council of Georgia announced Friday the Alapaha Judicial circuit received $325,332 and the South Georgia Judicial circuit received $183,348 in funding.
Alapha Judicial circuit oversees Berrien, Clinch, Cook, Lanier and Atkinson counties.
South Georgia Judicial circuit encompasses Baker, Mitchell, Decatur, Grady and Calhoun counties.
Alapaha Judicial circuit received its funding during the first award cycle, while the South Georgia Judicial circuit received funding during the second cycle of award disbursement.
According to statistics provided by the Judicial Council of Georgia, during the first two rounds of award disbursement, the Southern Judicial circuit, which includes Brooks, Colquitt, Lowndes, Echols and Thomas counties, and the Pataula Judicial circuit, which oversees Seminole, Miller, Early, Clay, Quitman, Randolph and Terrell counties, were not awarded funding.
The Southern Judicial circuit and the Pataula Judicial circuit were two of nine circuits from across the state that have not been awarded funding so far.
The Judicial Council of Georgia Ad Hoc Committee announced October 2021 that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp planned to allocate up to $110 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to address the state’s issue with backlogged cases.
Many of the cases are felonies, which are the most serious offenses in the state court system.
The news release notes the funding from the American Rescue Plan will provide an opportunity for courts, prosecutors, public defenders and related agencies to hire additional staff and acquire temporary workspace and facilities to address the backlog of cases.
Conclusion of serious violent felony cases in superior courts are high priority.
The Judicial Council of Georgia Ad Hoc Committee will monitor the use of around $96 million in funding to non-municipal trial courts, appellate courts, prosecutors, and related agencies.
The Georgia Public Defender Council will oversee more than $14 million for state public defenders.
As of Friday's announcement, $40,936,017 had been distributed to 40 of the 49 judicial circuits across the state.
State disbursement statistics from Georgia Public Defender Council was not available by Friday afternoon.
Applications for the next round of funding for judicial circuits will be held April 1 through April 15. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/georgia-news/south-georgia-judicial-circuits-receive-federal-grant-funding-to-address-old-cases | 2022-03-25T20:57:52 | en | 0.951827 |
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Seeded women continue to have major struggles at the Miami Open.
Coco Gauff is one of the few exceptions.
The 14th-seeded American, whose home is about a 45-minute drive north from where she's playing this event, got past Wang Qiang of China 7-5, 6-4 on Friday — avenging a first-round loss to her in the Australian Open earlier this year.
“I think I hit a lot of good shots on the run,” Gauff said.
Gauff, who turned 18 earlier this month, made her WTA Tour debut three years ago at the Miami Open. She reached the second round that year, was ousted in the second round last year and now is in the third round at Miami for the first time.
“I was just super motivated today," Gauff said.
No. 16 Jessica Pegula felt right at home too, even though the tournament is held on the grounds where the NFL's Miami Dolphins practice and play — and her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, just happen to own the Dolphins' AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. Pegula had little trouble beating 2018 Miami Open winner Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-4.
More than half of the women who were seeded going into the tournament won’t even be around for the first weekend, with four more — No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, No. 20 Elise Mertens of Belgium, No. 24 Sorana Cirstea of Romania, and No. 29 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia — getting eliminated in second-round matches Friday.
Their losses meant 15 seeded women have now lost their opening matches at the tournament, with 11 — including top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka — getting defeated Thursday alone. Another four seeded women have withdrawn with either injuries or ailments, meaning no more than 13 of the original 32 seeds will get to the third round.
Shelby Rogers of the U.S. used 15 aces — and saved nine of the 10 break points she faced — to beat Ostapenko, 6-3, 7-6 (0). It was Rogers’ second win over Ostapenko this month, after also topping her in a second-round matchup at Indian Wells.
“There are no easy matches out here,” said Rogers, who has now made the third round at Miami for just the second time; she also did it in 2017. “Whether you play the same people week to week or not, you’ve still got to go out there and perform. I just tried to focus on my side of the court and did the best I could.”
Madison Brengle of the U.S. beat Samsonova 6-4, 6-0. China’s Zhang Shuai needed only 53 minutes to beat Cirstea, 6-1, 6-1. Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic topped Mertens 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Other seeded second-round women's winners Friday included No. 17 Elena Rybakina and No. 21 Veronika Kudermetova.
Later Friday, No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland can clinch the world’s No. 1 ranking if she defeats Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in a second-round match. It’s Swiatek’s first match of the tournament; she, like all seeds, got a bye into the second round.
Swiatek would be assured of moving into the No. 1 spot because Ashleigh Barty, who had held the top spot until her retirement announcement earlier this week, has asked to be removed from the next set of rankings. The updated list will come out after the Miami Open concludes.
“We're going to definitely miss Ash on tour," Gauff said.
In men's second-round play Friday, No. 10 Cameron Norrie improved to 12-2 in his past 14 outings by beating fellow British player Jack Draper in straight sets. No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta and No. 31 Fabio Fognini also prevailed.
Hugo Gaston knocked out No. 20 John Isner of the U.S., topping the 2018 Miami champion 7-6 (5), 6-4. Isner had 22 aces and was broken just once, but went 0 for 5 on his break chances.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gauff-and-Rogers-win-more-seeded-women-fall-at-17029392.php | 2022-03-25T20:57:54 | en | 0.965512 |
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — In America, we say that everyone is created equal, but when it comes to children, they aren't getting equal opportunities, according to experts.
"Here I am, you know, 30-some years later and, you know, my child is experiencing a lot of the same issues, so it's time for change," said Ramon Garcia, a father living in New Britain, Connecticut.
Garcia's daughter, Amaya, is a sophomore in high school.
Garcia says he can see the impacts of the achievement gap between school districts that have more, and school districts that have less.
Amaya says she sees it in the way certain students are treated in class.
"It's kind of sad that I'm uncomfortable for asking you for help when you're supposed to be already helping me," she said.
"Depending on where you are, for a number of reasons, you are going to do poorer in school than your counterpart who may live five miles down the street from you," said Subira Gordon, executive director of ConnCan, an organization determined to close the achievement gap in Connecticut.
The state has one of the largest gaps in the country, although this issue exists everywhere in the U.S.
Public schools in America are mostly funded by property taxes, meaning the amount of money schools have to spend correlates with the socio-economic status of the zip code.
New Britain is an urban district with 87% students of color. Compare that to West Hartford, a wealthy suburb, with 44% students of color. Both have a similar number of kids, but despite the fact that New Britain has 75% of their student population on free and reduced lunch and the disparities in academic performance, West Hartford spends $3,000 more per student.
The data shows that the gap holds students, mostly students of color and low income students, back.
According to a study by Columbia University, by the end of 4th grade, Black, Latino and poor students of all races are two years behind their wealthier, mostly white peers in reading and math. By 8th grade, they fall three years behind and four years behind by 12th grade.
This is a this is a complex problem that states like Kentucky, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana and other states across the country are trying to fix
The impacts of the unequal funding of education reflects in different aspects of a student’s experience. It can mean lower teacher to student ratios, fewer school social workers and mental health resources, older text books and other materials.
Another issue is teachers not representing the students they teach, which can result in situations like unfair treatment of children of color in the classroom.
"That principle of white over Black has become institutionalized and passed on from one generation to the next, to the next, to the next," said Elijah Anderson, a professor of sociology at Yale University. He studies the impact of Americans of color in white spaces.
"These days it's become a political issue, you see, and people don't want to hear it, but in order to address problem, we need to educate people about these disparities and their source," he said.
He says that the stereotypes placed on students of color also contribute to the achievement gap.
"This is the burden to of black kids run into, you know, as they try to get an education and it's complicated," said Anderson.
While this issue may feel too big to take on, the members of ConnCan says change can happen.
"You can demand change. You can really fight to ensure that, if your school is not meeting the need of your child, what can you do personally, to advocate for changes that you'd like to see," said Gordon.
ConnCan is working on changing the way schools are funded. Parents and students, like Garcia and Amaya, say they will continue to stand up against the gap, and encourage everyone to use their voice.
"All kids, no matter how old, how young, what grade, minority race, whatever, we are the future of America," said Amaya. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national-politics/the-race/experts-search-for-better-ways-to-fund-education-to-bridge-achievement-gap | 2022-03-25T20:57:58 | en | 0.975886 |
DENVER, Colo. — Federal student loan payments are supposed to resume in May, more than two years after they were paused because of the pandemic, but many are wondering if President Joe Biden will pause loan payments for the fourth time or expand forgiveness programs further.
Loriann Weiss, who works in the financial aid department at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said she’s worried if payments resume. She claims many students will still not be able to pay their bills.
“Obviously, having a little bit more time certainly helps them,” said Weiss. “But I think our concern is— are students really prepared? They've had a very long period of time to not have to worry about making this payment.”
This is an issue that impacts 43 million Americans. The average borrower owes around $36,000, which adds up to a total of $1.6 trillion in federal student debt.
President Biden has, so far, forgiven $16 billion dollars in student debt by expanding student loan forgiveness for certain borrowers including public service employees, people with severe disabilities, and people who were scammed at for-profit colleges.
Pausing or canceling federal student loans is a controversial issue.
Proponents of loan forgiveness said it could immediately boost the economy and give borrowers more money for other expenses. That would mean more financial security for many, especially in historically marginalized groups.
“Our cost of living has increased so much. So, to be able to absorb that funding and put it into other places, is certainly going to only help them,” said Weiss.
Some critics believe loan forgiveness is too expensive. According to the Department of Education 2021 report, the payment pause has cost the federal government and taxpayers at least $95 billion in unpaid interest.
Experts warn if student loans are forgiven, it could limit funding to other spending programs.
So what’s next? First, Biden could choose to forgive all $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. It would be the costliest social spending initiative of his presidency—outspending unemployment insurance, the earned income tax credit and food stamps.
Second, Biden could forgive some federal student debt. On the campaign trail and early in his presidency, he said he was open to eliminating at least $10,000 in student debt per borrower, which would cost the government $373 billion.
Thirdly, Congress could decide the fate of student loan payments. Two bills on the topic have recently been introduced. One would prevent future pauses on federal student loan payments. The other would pause payments until 2023 and cancel loans for more borrowers.
As the debate continues, experts warn borrowers to be prepared to make payments and not count on debt forgiveness. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national-politics/the-race/the-cost-of-student-loan-forgiveness | 2022-03-25T20:58:04 | en | 0.978752 |
A 7-month-old girl died after being attacked by a dog in Georgia, authorities said.
The attack happened on Tuesday just outside of Augusta.
According to WJBF-TV, the child was being cared for by her great-grandmother when the American Bulldog Great Pyrenees mix attacked them.
The station reports that the great-grandmother rents a room from the dog's owners.
The great-grandmother was also injured in the attack, but her injuries were reportedly not life-threatening.
According to The Macon Telegraph, no charges have been filed, however, an investigation is continuing.
It's unclear what triggered the attack. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/7-month-old-dies-in-dog-attack | 2022-03-25T20:58:10 | en | 0.990366 |
Another day, another worker strike.
This time, it’s sellers on the online platform Etsy who are refusing to sell their goods due to a new fee increase.
In February, Etsy announced it plans to raise transaction fees by 30%, starting April 11.
Now sellers and customers are signing an online petition that asks Etsy to not raise fees, calling the move, “nothing short of pandemic profiteering.”
If Etsy doesn’t cancel the fee increase, sellers say they will stop selling their products on the site, starting on April 11.
Sellers are also calling on Etsy to crack down on resellers who sell goods that were not designed by themselves, a faster support system, and allowing sellers to have control over offsite ads.
Buzzfeed News reports the company argues the fee increase will help expand “efforts around marketing, customer support” and removing listings that don’t fit its policies. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/etsy-sellers-threaten-to-boycott-site-if-it-increases-fees | 2022-03-25T20:58:16 | en | 0.951284 |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Match Play (all times local):
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3 p.m.
Richard Bland won the Battle of Blighty and is headed to the knockout stage of the Dell Technologies Match Play.
The 49-year-old Bland faced 48-year-old Lee Westwood in an All-England match that featured the two oldest players in the field. They have known each other since junior golf. Bland won on the 17th hole and won his group.
Bland only became eligible for the 64-man field two months ago when he was runner-up in the Dubai Desert Classic. Now he still holds out hope of advancing far enough on the weekend to move into the top 50 and get to the Masters.
Dustin Johnson also is playing this weekend at Austin Country Club. He was 2 up over Max Homa, assured of a half-point he needed to win his group.
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2:30 p.m.
The winning streak of Billy Horschel at the Dell Technologies Match Play is over. No matter. He halved his match with Thomas Pieters, and that was all he needed to win his group and move into the knockout stage this weekend.
Horschel is the defending champion. His streak dated to the third day of round-robin matches last year and he still had effectively miles to reach Tiger Woods and his record 13 straight wins. That was when the entire tournament was single-elimination. Geoff Ogilvy once had 11 straight wins until losing in the championship match in 2007 the year after he won.
Tyrrell Hatton was undefeated in his group and advanced by beating Daniel Berger. Also advancing was Seamus Power of Ireland. That all but assures Power will stay in the top 50 in the world and get into the Masters.
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.chron.com/sports/article/The-Latest-Tie-enough-for-Horschel-to-advance-in-17029287.php | 2022-03-25T20:58:19 | en | 0.98316 |
A former Tennessee nurse has been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the accidental death of a patient because of a medication error.
She was also found guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult. The jury reached its verdict Friday. In 2017 RaDonda Vaught injected the paralyzing drug vecuronium into 75-year-old Charlene Murphey instead of using the sedative Versed.
Vaught freely admitted to making several errors with the medication that day, but her defense attorney sought to show that systemic problems at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were at least partly to blame for the error. The case has fixed the attention of patient safety advocates and nurses' organizations that are concerned it will make providers reluctant to report errors.
An expert witness for the state argued that Vaught violated the standard of care for nurses, the Associated Press reported. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/former-nurse-found-guilty-of-homicide-in-medication-error-death-case | 2022-03-25T20:58:22 | en | 0.968838 |
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — UMass has found a new leader for its basketball program, hiring Frank Martin as its coach Friday.
Martin, 56, takes over the Minutemen program from Matt McCall, who was fired this month after going 58-81 over five seasons in Amherst.
“It is evident that there is tremendous alignment in place to win and do it the right way,” Martin said in a statement. “Let’s all get on this ride together, let’s dream big and let’s be relentless at making our dreams a reality.”
Martin arrives following his own dismissal from South Carolina last week after 10 seasons and just one NCAA appearance with the Gamecocks. But that appearance to cap the 2016-17 season culminated in South Carolina’s first Final Four berth. Martin was 171-147 during his tenure at the school.
He had more NCAA tournament bids in his first head coaching job at Kansas State from 2007 to 2012, leading the Wildcats to March Madness four times including an Elite Eight berth in 2010. He finished 117-54 overall.
The move to Massachusetts will be a homecoming for Martin’s wife, Anya (Forrest), a 1998 UMass alum who ran track for the school.
Martin’s hiring by UMass was announced a day after former Chattanooga coach Lamont Paris was tapped as Martin’s successor at South Carolina.
___
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | https://www.chron.com/sports/article/UMass-hires-Frank-Martin-as-new-basketball-coach-17029252.php | 2022-03-25T20:58:25 | en | 0.97294 |
ATLANTA — A man is charged with battery and obstruction after Atlanta police said he assaulted a Southwest Airlines gate agent earlier this week.
Police have identified the man as 44-year-old Courney Drummond of Henderson, Nevada.
In a statement, Atlanta police said officers responded to a “physical altercation” at Hartsfield Jackson International on Wednesday.
The gate agent said Drummond was “behaving disorderly” after being asked to exit a flight.
Drummond reportedly refused to comply with flight attendants and threatened the gate agent before assaulting them.
Officers arrested Drummond at the airport.
As of this week, the TSA reports there have been more than 900 reports of unruly passengers over the past year.
The agency is conducting nearly 300 investigations into those incidents.
Atlanta police said they will continue to investigate the case involving Drummond. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/man-charged-with-battery-after-reportedly-assaulting-airline-employee | 2022-03-25T20:58:28 | en | 0.962525 |
An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday.
The collapse, captured by satellite images, marked the first time in human history that the frigid region had an ice shelf collapse.
It happened at the beginning of a freakish warm spell last week when temperatures soared more than 70 degrees (40 Celsius) warmer than normal in some spots of East Antarctica.
Satellite photos show the area had been shrinking rapidly the last couple of years, and now scientists wonder if they have been overestimating East Antarctica’s stability and resistance to global warming that has been melting ice rapidly on the smaller western side and the vulnerable peninsula.
The ice shelf, about 460 square miles wide holding in the Conger and Glenzer glaciers from the warmer water, collapsed between March 14 and 16, said ice scientist Catherine Walker of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
She said scientists have never seen this happen in this part of the continent, making it worrisome.
“The Glenzer Conger ice shelf presumably had been there for thousands of years and it’s not ever going to be there again,” said University of Minnesota ice scientist Peter Neff.
The issue isn’t the amount of ice lost in this collapse, Neff and Walker said. That is negligible. It's more about where it happened.
Neff said he worries that previous assumptions about East Antarctica’s stability may not be correct. And that’s important because if the water frozen in East Antarctica melted — and that’s a millennia-long process if not longer — it would raise seas across the globe more than 160 feet (50 meters).
It’s more than five times the ice in the more vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet, where scientists have concentrated much of their research.
Helen Amanda Fricker, co-director of the Scripps Polar Center at the University of California San Diego, said researchers have to spend more time looking at that part of the continent.
“East Antarctica is starting to change. There is mass loss starting to happen,” Fricker said.
“We need to know how stable each one of the ice shelves are because once one disappears” it means glaciers melt into the warming water and “some of that water will come to San Diego and elsewhere.”
Scientists had been seeing this particular ice shelf — closest to Australia — shrink a bit since the 1970s, Neff said.
Then in 2020, the shelf’s ice loss sped up to losing about half of itself every month or so, Walker said.
“We probably are seeing the result of a lot of long time increased ocean warming there,” Walker said. “it’s just been melting and melting.”
Still, one expert thinks that only part of East Antarctica is a concern.
“Most of East Antarctica is relatively secure, relatively invulnerable and there are sectors in it that are vulnerable,” said British Antarctic Survey geophysicist Rob Larter.
“The overall effect of climate change around East Antarctica is it’s chipping away at the edges of the ice sheets in some places, but it’s actually adding more snow to the middle.”
Last week, what’s called an atmospheric river dumped a lot of warm air — and even rain instead of snow — on parts of East Antarctica, getting temperatures so far above normal that scientists have spent the last week discussing it.
The closest station to the collapsed ice shelf is Australia’s Casey station, about 180 miles away and it hit 42 degrees which was about 18 degrees warmer than normal.
And that, Walker said, “probably is something like, you know, the last straw on the camel’s back.”
Fricker, who has explored a different more stable East Antarctic ice shelf, said an ice shelf there “is the quietest most serene place you can imagine.” | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/scientists-concerned-after-ice-shelf-collapses-in-colder-area-of-antarctica | 2022-03-25T20:58:34 | en | 0.948134 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that can survive on a diet of just blood.
They compared vampire bats to 26 other bat species and identified 13 genes that are missing or no longer work in vampire bats.
“Typically, when we hear about mutations destroying genes, we think that’s a bad idea,” researcher Michael Hiller said, according to the Scientific American. “But in this study, we found that losing certain genes can be beneficial for adapting to this very special diet.”
Over the years, those gene tweaks helped them adapt to a blood diet rich in iron and protein but with minimal fats or carbohydrates.
"These findings enhance our understanding of vampire bat biology and the genomic underpinnings of adaptations to blood feeding," the researchers said in the journal Scientific Advances.
The bats live in South and Central America and steal blood from livestock and other animals. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/scientists-figure-out-how-vampire-bats-got-a-taste-for-blood | 2022-03-25T20:58:41 | en | 0.917059 |
Stocks wound up mostly higher on Wall Street Friday after another day of bouncing around as traders try to figure out what's next for the economy.
It was a fitting ending for a bumpy week that had both gains and losses for major U.S. indexes. The S&P 500 wound up with a gain of 0.5% after another day of sudden movements both up and down. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended with a loss of 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. Treasury yields rose sharply again and crude oil prices rose moderately.
Technology stocks dropped, checking gains in other places in the market. As the Associated Press reports, large tech companies have outsized values that seem to lend more weight in their ability to push the market as a whole higher or lower. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/us-stocks-end-mostly-higher-amid-another-up-and-down-day-on-wall-street | 2022-03-25T20:58:47 | en | 0.970517 |
OTTAWA - The Russian invasion of Ukraine is adding to inflationary pressures around the world and in Canada, a senior Bank of Canada official said Friday.
In a speech by webcast to a conference at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki said inflation in the near term is expected to be higher than the central bank projected in January due to the surge in prices for oil and other commodities.
“A key concern for us is the broadening of price pressures - around two-thirds of the components in the consumer price index are now exhibiting inflation above three per cent,” Kozicki said in the prepared text of her speech.
“Persistently elevated inflation increases the risk that longer-run inflation expectations could drift upward.”
The Bank of Canada's next interest rate announcement is set for April 13 when it will also update its quarterly economic forecast.
Kozicki said she expects the pace and size of the rate increases to come and the bank's plan to allow its holdings of Government of Canada bonds to shrink will be key parts of the central bank's deliberations.
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 per cent earlier this month in a first move to help fight inflation. The central bank has said that higher rates will be needed as it works to bring inflation, which sits at a three-decade high, back under control.
In its monetary policy report in January, the Bank of Canada forecast an annual inflation rate of 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 and an average of close to five per cent in the first half of this year.
Statistics Canada reported earlier this month that the annual pace of inflation in February climbed to 5.7 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent in January.
In her speech, Kozicki said the pandemic has had an uneven impact on households with low-wage workers, especially women and young people, being the hardest hit.
Kozicki noted that the bank has been working to build its ability to better understand the range of household experiences across the Canadian economy.
“Most people who could work from home kept their jobs and saw little or no interruption to their income. Meanwhile, measures to contain the virus hit some services - such as restaurants, accommodation, travel and entertainment - especially hard,” she said.
“Many people in these sectors lost their regular sources of income. The impact was most severe for low-wage workers, especially women and young people, with child care challenges exacerbating the situation for many women.”
And now, those with low incomes are also being hit especially hard by inflation.
“With everyday items such as gas and groceries facing some of the fastest price gains, all households are affected by high inflation. But my colleagues and I are mindful that this is especially painful for those with low incomes, because they tend to spend a greater share of their earnings on such items,” Kozicki said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2022. | https://www.cp24.com/news/bank-of-canada-deputy-governor-says-near-term-inflation-higher-amid-ukraine-war-1.5834964 | 2022-03-25T20:58:53 | en | 0.977841 |
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Legislature has voted to override the governor's veto of the bill banning transgender children from participating in school sports.
The House voted 56-18, while the Senate voted 21-8 for House Bill 11 on Friday, overturning the governor's veto of the bill. HB11, which was amended in the final hours of the legislative session, now bans transgender children from middle and high school sports. In the event of a lawsuit, however, the bill defaults to a special commission that would evaluate transgender children's eligibility to play a sport that matches their gender identity.
The commission idea was backed by Governor Spencer Cox, though neither social conservatives or LGBTQ rights groups were thrilled with it. Groups like the Utah Eagle Forum successfully lobbied for a last-minute floor amendment instituting a ban on the final night of the 2022 legislative session.
Gov. Cox vetoed HB11 with the ban, concerned about the welfare of already vulnerable transgender children, as well as legal indemnification for school districts..
The legislature will now meet in a special session to consider House Bill 3001, which offers legal protections for school districts in the event of a lawsuit.
Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, told FOX 13 News in Salt Lake City on Thursday he believes the state will be sued over HB11 and likely lose. The bill would then default to the commission. The mayors of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County have warned of economic losses as a result of the transgender sports bill — including lost sports games, conventions and other events.
Outside the Utah State Capitol, people for and against the bill demonstrated at times shouting over each other "trans rights" and "girls rights."
This story was first reported by Ben Winslow at KSTU in Salt Lake City. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/utah-legislature-overrides-veto-of-transgender-sports-bill | 2022-03-25T20:58:53 | en | 0.962319 |
HALIFAX - A Canadian attempting to drive Ukrainians displaced by the war to safety says Russian shelling has trapped him in the city of Chernihiv for three days as food and water supplies dwindle.
Speaking Friday from a bomb shelter in the badly damaged city in northern Ukraine, Lex Brukovskiy said he feels the shelling is an immoral tactic targeting innocent people trying to escape the conflict.
“It's dirty. It's unfair because what the Russian army is doing is just taking civilians hostage,” said Brukovskiy, a lobster fisherman from Nova Scotia who travelled to his native Ukraine to offer help two weeks ago. “They're not fighting army with army. They're setting their army against regular people.”
He is driving a van with about a dozen passengers, including women, children and the elderly, that is part of a humanitarian convoy trying to ferry people to safety in the western part of the country.
Brukovskiy told The Canadian Press there is a limited supply of food and water in the city and the heating and electricity don't work.
He said shelling has destroyed a key bridge leading out of Chernihiv, adding that other routes fill up rapidly with convoys of refugees attempting to flee whenever the shelling briefly subsides.
Whenever there is a lull in the bombardment, Brukovskiy's convoy attempts to load the refugees, who are waiting in a shelter, but the missiles and bombs have resumed, targeting roads and bridges, he said.
“I have a van full of the elderly, women and kids who are now crying whenever they get in and out (of the vehicle). It's hard to run back and forth from the shelter to the van,” he said.
The lobster harvester raised money for humanitarian aid and left his fishing boat in Meteghan, N.S., two weeks ago to come to Ukraine - a country where he spent his childhood and where most of his family lives.
He said the situation for residents of the city is growing increasingly desperate after a month of attacks.
“We're stuck. We don't know what to do,” he said in an interview. “We're hoping for the best. We're hoping somebody will negotiate some kind of corridor for us, or send some military to help us get out.”
Roughly half the population left in the first weeks of attacks on the city, Brukovskiy said, and there were routes that people could drive on.
Now, he says people aren't able to leave to the west due to the destruction and the shelling of the bridges. People he's encountered have said they don't want to go east, towards Russia.
“Hope is all we have left. There's not much else we can do but hope for the best,” he said. “But it's cold here. There's no heat, no electricity, there's hardly any water. Water supplies are very limited.
“In addition to sitting in the dark, now people don't know how long their food supply will last, or their water supply.”
Brukovskiy's crowdfunding page has been raising money to bring supplies to people fleeing war, and he says he encourages Canadians to continue donating to Ukrainian and humanitarian organizations to assist people who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
In the Nova Scotia legislature on Friday, Ronnie LeBlanc, the member for the riding of Clare, where Brukovskiy lives, rose to pay tribute to the fisherman's efforts in Ukraine and the more than $20,000 in donations he has already raised.
“I also ask all members of the Nova Scotia legislature to join me in honouring Lex and all those people who went to Ukraine to make a difference in the lives of Ukrainians,” LeBlanc said.
Brukovskiy said if he manages to bring his group to safety, he will keep trying to make similar journeys.
“I'm doing what I came here to do,” he said. “If I can get out of here soon enough, we'll regroup and try and get here again. There's a lot of people trying to get out who can't.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2022.
- With files from Keith Doucette | https://www.cp24.com/news/canadian-fisherman-trapped-by-russian-shelling-as-he-tries-to-drive-ukrainians-to-safety-1.5835010 | 2022-03-25T20:58:59 | en | 0.982658 |
Nike is partnering with Vanessa Bryant to release new shoes that will honor her late husband and daughter, who died two years ago in a helicopter crash.
On Thursday, the sports apparel company announced that the first shoe installment would be the Kobe 6 Protro “Mambacita Sweet 16,” in honor of Gigi Bryant.
Nike said all proceeds from the shoe would benefit the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
News of the partnership comes after the two reportedly had some disagreements in the past, including Nike releasing shoes last June without Vanessa's blessing, NPR and CNN reported.
Last April, Kobe's estate announced that they would start their own brand after the contract with Nike expired, USA Today reported.
But that all seems to be water under the bridge with news of the new collaboration.
“I am happy to announce that we will continue my husband's legacy with Nike and look forward to expanding his and Gigi's global impact by sharing the Mamba Mentality with youth athletes for generations to come,” Vanessa Bryant said in a news release.
Nike added that they, alongside Bryant, plan to establish a youth basketball center in Southern California.
A release date has not been announced. | https://www.wtxl.com/sports/nike-partners-with-vanessa-bryant-to-make-shoes-honoring-kobe-daughter | 2022-03-25T20:58:59 | en | 0.976851 |
OTTAWA - Tamara Lich is appealing her bail conditions as she awaits trial on charges related to her role in organizing a protest that saw large trucks create gridlock in downtown Ottawa for several weeks.
Diane Magas, a lawyer representing Lich, filed an appeal of the bail conditions, including restrictions on use of social media, in an Ontario court.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is helping with the challenge, says the conditions violate her guarantees of free expression, association and peaceful assembly.
In February, the organization set up and funded a network of criminal defence lawyers helping Lich and others related to the trucker convoy, said John Carpay, the centre's president.
The court-ordered ban on Lich's expression on social media, including comment on COVID-19 health measures, lacks a “rational connection” to a risk to public safety or committing further offences, the centre says.
Lich was arrested Feb. 17 and initially denied bail, but that decision was reversed March 7 following a review.
She faces charges including mischief and counselling to commit mischief, and was notified Thursday that she now faces additional charges, including counselling to commit intimidation.
Pat King, another central figure associated with the blockades, was also notified that he faces additional charges as he appeared before an Ontario court on Thursday.
King connected virtually to the hearing from an Ottawa jail, where he has been in custody since being arrested and denied bail last month.
The new charges King faces include intimidation, counselling intimidation, obstructing police and disobeying a court order.
He was originally charged with mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to obstruct police and counselling to disobey a court order.
Lawyer Cal Rosemond said in court that he expected to officially represent King in the near future, and cited “extreme difficulties” in being able to reach King at the detention centre.
King and Tyson George Billings, also arrested in February, are now listed as co-accused.
Billings, nicknamed “Freedom George” by fellow demonstrators in Ottawa, livestreamed his participation in the protests over several days.
He was initially charged with mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to disobey a court order, obstructing police and counselling to obstruct police.
Billings had been expected to appear virtually in court along with King to face the joint information, but was rescheduled for the following day. However, he did not appear in court Friday.
Both King and Billings are expected to appear again in court on April 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2022. | https://www.cp24.com/news/convoy-organizer-tamara-lich-to-appeal-bail-conditions-lawyers-1.5835039 | 2022-03-25T20:59:05 | en | 0.979955 |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A source of dry and mild air will create an ideal outdoor weekend for the region. West to northwest wind will be occasionally breezy, and mornings will be a bit cool for late March. Nighttime readings will fall into the 50s and 40s, with lows around the low to mid 40s. Full sunshine is expected Saturday with temps rebounding to the low to mid 70s. Sunday will be similar, except for some patchy clouds ahead of a reinforcing dose of dry air. A warming trend continues early next week with no rain but more moisture with morning fog possible. The next organized storm system will cross the Deep South states midweek, reaching our area Thursday with areas of rain and strong thunderstorms possible.
--Casanova Nurse, Chief Meteorologist | https://www.wtxl.com/weather/friday-evening-first-to-know-forecast-03-25-2022 | 2022-03-25T20:59:05 | en | 0.908888 |
Police have arrested nine people and laid a combined 60 charges following a multi-jurisdictional investigation into a series of robberies and home invasions targeting business employees entrusted with carrying large sums of cash.
Peel Regional Police say that officers began an investigation in February, upon learning of a series of alleged incidents in which the victims were all individuals who were responsible for carrying large cash deposits to and from their workplace in Mississauga.
Police say that the investigation, dubbed Project Roscoe, eventually led to the execution of numerous search warrants across the GTA over a one-month period.
The suspects taken into custody are facing dozens of charges, including robbery with a firearm.
“This multi-jurisdictional project is just one example of investigators' excellent work and perseverance which sends a strong message that criminal activity will not be tolerated in our communities,” Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews said in a press release. “There is no tolerance for offenders who steal from the hard-working members of our community, and I want to commend all of the officers for their exemplary work to keep our communities safe.”
Peel police say that the investigation remains “open and ongoing” and that investigators anticipate that further charges will be laid.
In the interim, police are encouraging members of the public to avoid carrying large sums of money and to consider making deposits in stages throughout the day, if necessary. | https://www.cp24.com/news/dozens-of-charges-laid-in-robberies-targeting-business-employees-entrusted-with-carrying-large-sums-of-cash-1.5835104 | 2022-03-25T20:59:11 | en | 0.969805 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/new-orleans-saints/articles/38946668 | 2022-03-25T20:59:12 | en | 0.738227 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/new-orleans-saints/articles/38946774 | 2022-03-25T20:59:13 | en | 0.738227 |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/new-orleans-saints/articles/38946817 | 2022-03-25T20:59:13 | en | 0.738227 |
Ontario reported 22 net new COVID-19 deaths on Friday, as hospitalizations rose slightly from earlier in the week while early surveillance data points to a rise in transmission across the province.
The Ministry of Health said 15 of the deaths reported on Friday occurred in the past 30 days and seven occurred prior to that period.
There have been 59 deaths reported in the past week and 452 in the past month.
The total number of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario now stands at 12,388.
About 489 deaths were removed from the tally earlier in March as they were determined to be “incidental” with a cause of death not in any way related to infection.
There were 667 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, up six from yesterday and 54 from one week ago.
Of those, the number of people in intensive care fell by four to 161 on Friday. The ICU burden caused by COVID-19 continues to fall and has fallen by 24 from one week ago.
UHN infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch described what he’s seen in overall wastewater surveillance data as the precursor to a “wavelet” but cautioned we really do not test enough to know what is going on.
“We’re not doing widespread PCR testing across the province so it’s hard what the true burden of infection is, but if you look at the wastewater signal not just in Toronto and other parts of the province, we are seeing an uptick in the surveillance.”
The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says the signal generated by copies of the SARS-COV-2 virus in wastewater across the province has as much as tripled since March 9.
“It would come to no one’s surprise if days or a week or so later we’re going to see a bump in the number of people admitted to hospital with COVID-19-related illness.”
Even as masks are now optional in most settings across the province, Bogoch said it was a good idea to still wear one.
“I think that’s a good idea, especially because we’re on the cusp of a spring wave.”
When asked about the latest trend in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford replied that the province had more than adequate health care capacity to treat anyone who becomes ill enough to require hospitalization due to COVID-19 this spring.
Of the 2,671 cases detected through limited PCR testing in the province, the Ministry of Health says 291 cases involved unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people, 734 involved people with two COVID-19 vaccine doses, 1,537 involved people with three doses of vaccine and 199 involved people whose exact vaccination status was not known.
Provincial labs processed 17,654 test specimens, generating a positivity rate of 12.6 per cent.
The province says administered 9,928 COVID-19 vaccine doses on Thursday.
Of those, 1,047 were first doses, 2,462 were second doses and 4,911 were third doses.
Across all age groups, 84.2 per cent of Ontario residents have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 80.9 per cent have two doses and 47.8 per cent have three doses.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times. | https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-sees-week-over-week-increase-in-covid-hospitalizations-amid-suggestions-that-another-wave-is-here-1.5834297 | 2022-03-25T20:59:17 | en | 0.969536 |
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