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‘A circus’: Mississippi Supreme Court Justice decries efforts to keep him in lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In a rare address to a federal court Wednesday, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph called efforts to attach him to a lawsuit challenging a new state law a “circus” with “no legal precedent in U.S. history.”Randolph was named a defendant in the lawsuit challenging House Bill 1020. The legislation was signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in April. The new state law, which U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has temporarily prevented from taking effect, expands the state’s role in courts and policing in Jackson. Speaking before Wingate, Randolph said Wednesday was the first day in over 19 years that he addressed a courtroom from the podium rather than from the judge’s bench.“I have never seen a circus like this one,” Randolph said. “I can’t find a case in U.S. history like this.”The lawsuit, filed by the national, state and local chapters of the NAACP, says “separate and unequal policing” will return to Mississippi’s majority-Black...

Arizona woman alleges sexual assault by Trevor Bauer; he denies allegation and countersues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman has accused former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault, alleging in a lawsuit updated this week that he held a knife at her throat and choked her until she passed out during a rape that left her pregnant in late 2020.Bauer was never arrested or charged and he has countersued, denying the allegations and accusing the woman of faking a pregnancy and trying to extort money from him.“Trevor Bauer categorically denies this woman’s unhinged allegations,” the player’s co-agents, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, said in a statement Wednesday. They said she had made several million-dollar demands against Bauer over two years, prompting him to file a criminal complaint against her. Scottsdale Police Officer Aaron Bolin confirmed Wednesday that Bauer filed a criminal complaint on Jan. 24 alleging the woman was trying to extort him, but detectives did not recommend charges to Maricopa County prosecutors. Bolin said there were also no charges recomme...

Remains found stuffed in garment bag 45 years ago in rural Nevada ID’d as Ohio woman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In 1978, a garment bag containing a woman’s heavily decayed remains was discovered in a remote area of northern Nevada. The case soon went cold — and the victim remained nameless for 45 years.But on Wednesday, Nevada State Police announced that advancements in DNA testing have finally led to an identification. She was Florence Charleston, a Cleveland, Ohio, woman in her late 60s who had moved to Portland, Oregon, shortly before her death.How Charleston wound up dead and buried in a shallow grave 535 miles (860 kilometers) away from her new home is still a mystery. Police said Wednesday in a news release announcing the DNA match that the investigation into her death is ongoing.Diane Liggitt, one of Charleston’s few surviving relatives, said she was around 18 when she learned from her father that her aunt had left for the Pacific Northwest with a new boyfriend sometime in the early 1970s. Decades passed. The family never heard from Charleston again.Throughout th...

Barbara Kingsolver wins Women’s Prize for Fiction with Appalachian novel ‘Demon Copperhead’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — American novelist Barbara Kingsolver won the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction Wednesday with “Demon Copperhead,” the Dickens-inspired tale of a boy’s struggle against the odds in a corner of America scarred by opioid addiction. Kingsolver’s Appalachian coming-of-age tale was announced as winner of the 30,000 pounds ($38,000) award at a ceremony in London.Kingsolver, 68, also won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for the novel, which transplants Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield” to modern-day southwest Virginia, where the author lives.It was a second victory for Kingsolver, who previously won the Women’s Prize in 2010 for “The Lacuna.”“Lightning strikes twice,” she said as she accepted the award.Kingsolver said she wrote the book to tell stories from a part of the United States — the mountainous Appalachia region — that is often overlooked or regarded as “just a joke.”“We’re the last demographic in the U.S. that progressive people are allowed...

Pregnant woman fatally shot in car at Seattle intersection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A woman who was eight months pregnant died after a man shot multiple times into a car she was in while stopped at an intersection in central Seattle, authorities said. The 34-year-old woman’s baby was delivered at a hospital and but died soon after, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday, citing a probable cause statement. A 37-year-old man who was in the car with the woman was wounded in the arm and remained hospitalized. The motivation for the Tuesday morning shooting in the Belltown neighborhood was unclear. A man approached the car, fired at the driver’s side with a handgun and ran away, the statement said. Video from the neighborhood showed no previous interaction with the victims. A 30-year-old man who matched witnesses’ description was located by police soon after. Approached by officers, he raised his arms and said, “I did it, I did it,” according to police. Police said he told investigators he saw a firearm in the vehicle and reacted by firing...

Drug syndicate hid meth in Canadian maple syrup, canola oil bound for Down Under, authorities say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A drug syndicate that tried to smuggle tons of methamphetamine from Canada to Australia and New Zealand by hiding it in shipments of maple syrup and canola oil has been busted, authorities said Thursday.Authorities from the three nations said they had worked together for more than five months to unravel the elaborate scheme that was worth billions of dollars. Australian police said they had intercepted four separate hauls of meth weighing more than six tons and filed charges against six men. They said that in January, Canadian authorities alerted them that 2,900 liters (766 gallons) of liquid meth had been hidden in 180 bottles of canola oil bound for Australia. They said Canadian authorities swapped out the meth for a harmless substance and allowed the shipment to continue. Australian police said that two men then moved what they believed were the drugs to storage locations around the city of Melbourne. Two more shipments came in May and June, and the...

Oakland Athletics stadium deal wins final legislative approval in Nevada as MLB weighs move to Vegas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics cleared a major hurdle for their planned relocation to Las Vegas after the Nevada Legislature gave final approval on Wednesday to public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium with a retractable roof.The deal still needs the governor’s signature, and MLB still must approve the A’s move to Las Vegas, but both are anticipated.The Assembly approved the final version of the bill with $380 million in taxpayer money on a 25-15 vote after making minor changes to the measure the Senate approved on a 13-8 vote Tuesday just hours before the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup.The Senate accepted the changes with no debate on a voice vote Wednesday night and sent it to the governor’s desk as an “emergency measure” adopted during the special legislative session that convened with Democratic majorities in both houses June 7. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo had proposed the stadium spending plan.The $380 million in pub...

Woman wanted for stealing luxury car, striking police cruiser in North York

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

A Toronto woman is wanted on several charges after she allegedly stole a luxury car and crashed into a police cruiser in an attempt to flee from responding officers.Just before 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, Toronto police were investigating a woman wanted on multiple warrants in the Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue area in North York.It’s alleged that officers attempted to arrest the woman when she fled in her vehicle, striking a police cruiser. Authorities said the suspect then mounted the sidewalk and collided with two other cars in a busy plaza, endangering lives.No one was injured, police said.The woman fled the scene in a grey Mercedes GLC SUV, last seen northbound on Alness Street. Police believe the luxury vehicle to be stolen.Colbie Harris, 31, of Toronto, is wanted on multiple offences. They include dangerous operation, operation while disqualified, three counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident, three counts of failing to comply with probation, theft of...

Biden endorsed by 4 environmental and conservation groups for efforts to fight global warming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told an audience of conservation and environmental groups Wednesday that their work has never been more important at a time when they are battling the greatest threat facing future generations.Speaking at the annual Capital Dinner of the League of Conservation Voters, Biden told the supportive audience there are “a lot of threats to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren” but climate change “is the only truly existential threat.”He said the audience members and his administration had done good work in combatting the threat but everyone needed to “finish the job.”Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were endorsed by four environmental and conservation groups at the dinner: the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, NextGen PAC, NRDC Action Fund and the Sierra Club. Speakers for the organizations praised the Biden-Harris team as the administration that has done the most to combat climate change.In earlier comments, former House ...

Child critically injured after being struck by vehicle in Brampton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:00 GMT

A child is in the hospital with critical injuries after they were struck by a vehicle in Brampton.Peel Regional Police were called to the Sugarhill Drive and Orangegrove Drive area around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday for reports of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle.A police spokesperson noted a heavy presence of officers in the area due to a collision investigation.Peel Regional Paramedics tells CityNews a child between the ages of 12 and 15 was struck and seriously injured. The youth was rushed to a trauma centre.The child’s injuries are considered life-threatening, paramedics said.The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene.COLLISION INVESTIGATION:-Sugarhill Dr / Orangegrove Dr in #Brampton. -Heavy police presence in area. -Officers investigating a collision. -Injuries unknown at this time. -No threat to the public. -Please avoid the area. -PR230193186— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) June 14, 2023