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Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinians, including 3 militants, as West Bank violence surges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces on Friday killed five Palestinians, including three militants, across the West Bank, deepening a surge of violence in the occupied territory that has accompanied Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.The deaths raised to 205 the number of Palestinians killed in West Bank violence since the Gaza war erupted on Oct. 7, making it the deadliest period in the territory since the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.Israel says the crackdown is aimed at Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza, and other militant groups active in the West Bank. But rights groups say the Israeli tactics, including deadly raids, home demolitions and arrests, are being carried out with increased frequency.The war erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants in Gaza crossed into Israel and killed at least 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others. Israel launched a war that has claimed over 11,000 lives in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to health officials in the Hamas-ruled ter...

Speaker Johnson says he’ll make 44,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage available to the general public

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he plans to publicly release thousands of hours of footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, making good on a promise he made to far-right members of his party when he was campaigning for the job. “This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials,” Johnson said in a statement. The newly elected speaker said the first tranche of security footage, around 90 hours, will be released on a public committee website Friday, with the rest of the more than 40,000 hours expected to be posted over the next several months. In the meantime, a public viewing room will also be set up in the Capitol for viewing the footage.For the last several months, the GOP-led House Administration Committee has made the vi...

Brampton man charged in human trafficking case forced 18-year-old into sex trade: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

A man from Brampton is facing just under a dozen charges for his alleged involvement in human trafficking.Peel Regional Police said the victim, an 18-year-old woman, was forced into the sex trade while the male exercised control over numerous aspects of her life while profiting from it.On Wednesday, investigators arrested 21-year-old Elijah Grey of Brampton. He’s facing 11 total charges, including human trafficking under 18 years old, advertising sexual services and assault with a weapon, among other offences.He was held on bail and appeared in court.

Georgia prosecutor seeks August trial date for Trump and others in election case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A prosecutor in Georgia is seeking an August trial date for former President Donald Trump and others charged over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday filed a motion to schedule the start of the trial for Aug. 5. Willis wrote that the proposed trial date balances potential delays from Trump’s other criminal trials and the speedy trial rights of the other defendants. Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said his client opposes Willis’ motion and wants the judge to schedule a hearing on the issue.A Fulton County grand jury in August indicted Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to keep the Republican in power after he lost the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. Four of the defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors, and the rest have all pleaded not guilty.Willis also asked Fulton Cou...

K-pop star Rosé joins first lady Jill Biden to talk mental health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — K-pop superstar Rosé said Friday at a mental health awareness event hosted by first lady Jill Biden that it’s important for the world to understand that famous people grapple with emotional struggles, too. “I think that would be very great, for everybody who works under the public eye,” she said, perched on a slate gray couch at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino after hugging the first lady. Rosé, a part of the supergroup BLACKPINK, said having a large social media following makes her feel vulnerable, particularly when people are critical. “I do feel like some of the things I do is just never enough, and no matter how hard I work on something, there’s always gonna be somebody who has their own opinion or who enjoy taking control of the narrative,” she said. “And so, that comes to me as a sense of loneliness.”She said it was important to talk about such things, however difficult it may be. “Just as we feed ourselves for better health and fitness, men...

Judge denies Trump’s request for a mistrial in his New York civil fraud case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Donald Trump ‘s civil fraud case denied his bid for a mistrial Friday, rejecting claims from the former president’s lawyers that the proceedings are infected with political bias.Trump’s lawyers had urged Judge Arthur Engoron on Thursday to stop the case immediately, arguing he had irreparably harmed Trump’s right to a fair trial through “astonishing departures from ordinary standards of impartiality.” They cited his rulings against their client, the prominent role of the judge’s chief law clerk, the clerk’s political donations and the judge’s sharing of articles about the case with fellow alumni of his high school. “My principal law clerk does not make rulings or issue orders — I do,” Engoron wrote, adding that “my rulings are mine, and mine alone.”As for publishing a high school newsletter in which he has included links to articles about himself and the case, “none of this has anything to do with, much less does it interfere with...

Moms for Liberty reports more than $2 million in revenue in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

Moms for Liberty reported $2.1 million in total revenue in 2022, more than five times what the conservative “parental rights” nonprofit made in its inaugural year in 2021, according to a tax filing provided to The Associated Press on Friday.The dramatic increase, up from $370,000 in revenue the previous year, reveals the financial footprint of the polarizing group’s massive nationwide growth, including high-profile events over the past year with prominent conservative groups and Republican political candidates.Since its founding in 2021, Moms for Liberty has amassed vigorous support from some conservatives who support its efforts to target references to race and LGBTQ+ identity in schools across the country. At the same time, the group has generated forceful backlash from grassroots groups and anti-hate organizations who argue its activism stirs extremist ideas and harms minority and LGBTQ+ students.Moms for Liberty spokesperson Marleigh Kerr said the group’s leap in rev...

ChatGPT-maker Open AI pushes out co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, says he wasn’t ‘consistently candid’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the company said in a statement.Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, will take over as interim CEO effective immediately, the company said, while it searches for a permanent replacement. An OpenAI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what Altman’s alleged lack of candor was about. The statement said his behavior was hindering the board’s ability to exercise its responsibilities. Altman helped start OpenAI as a nonprofit research laboratory in 2015. In the past year, he was thrust into the global spotlight as the face of OpenAI after ChatGPT exploded into public consciousness. On a world tour earlier this year, he was mobbed by a crowd of adoring fa...

White House denounces ‘irresponsible’ subpoenas from House GOP and says they should be withdrawn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is firing back on a recent slate of subpoenas issued by House Republicans targeting members of President Joe Biden’s family and his inner circle of aides, describing the GOP’s impeachment push as an illegitimate endeavor that has repeatedly failed to produce proof of wrongdoing.The four-page letter from a top White House attorney to Republican committee leaders portrays an overzealous House GOP majority that, according to the letter, has “misrepresented the facts, ignored the overwhelming evidence disproving your claims, and repeatedly shifted the rationale for your ‘inquiry.’”It calls on Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to withdraw what the White House described as an “irresponsible set of subpoenas and requests for interviews.”The White House argued that House Republicans were “improperly weaponizing the oversight powers of Congress” for political gain, and have “consist...

$2M winning scratch-off ticket sold at gas station Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:10 GMT

CHICAGO — A lucky Illinois Lottery player is headed to the bank after winning the top prize on a scratch-off ticket picked up at a gas station in Chicago.The recently minted millionaire is now figuring out how to spend their $2 million in winnings after they struck it big on a Stacks of Cash lottery ticket purchased for $20, according to the Illinois Lottery. Illinois Lottery: Stories of millionaires made overnight The big winner claimed one of only three $2 million top prizes available to Stacks of Cash players and the odds of hitting the top prize were one in 1,438,180.The life-changing ticket was sold at a BP gas station located in the 2300 block of West Fullerton Avenue in Bucktown and it isn't the first time they have sold a lucky ticket with a massive payout, the Illinois Lottery said.Back in 2017, a 25X Payout scratch-off ticket was sold to a lucky player who took home a $250,000 prize. Illinois Lottery player in Rochelle wins $1M during Monday drawing The winner of the t...