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Attorney General Garland faces his GOP critics as Justice Department is under heavy scrutiny

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday came face-to-face with his most ardent critics as House Republicans used a routine oversight hearing to interrogate him about what they claim is the “weaponization” of the Justice Department under President Joe Biden.Garland is appearing before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time in two years and at an unprecedented moment in the Justice Department’s history: He’s overseeing two cases against Donald Trump, the first former president to face criminal charges, and another against the sitting president’s son, Hunter Biden.Republicans on the committee — led by Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman — came out of the gate with accusations that the Justice Department is protecting the Biden family, while targeting his opponent, Trump.“There’s one investigation protecting President Biden. There’s another one attacking President Trump,” Jordan, Republican of Ohio, said in his opening statement. “The Justice Department...

Autopsy finds man who was punched at New England Patriots game before he died had medical issue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A man who died at a New England Patriots home game last weekend after he was punched at least twice in the head did not suffer a “traumatic injury” in the stands but had a medical issue, authorities in Massachusetts announced Wednesday.Police and safety personnel responded to the upper deck at Gillette Stadium shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday and found Dale Mooney, 53, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, “in apparent need of medical attention,” the Norfolk County district attorney’s office said in a statement Monday.Mooney was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. “Our investigation has included numerous law enforcement interviews and the examination of multiple angles of video capturing the scuffle prior to Mr. Dale Mooney’s collapse during the Sunday night game at Gillette Stadium,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.“Preliminary autopsy results did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identify a medical issue,” according to the statement. “...

Man who shot Black teen who mistakenly went to his door enters not guilty plea; trial is scheduled

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A white 84-year-old homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager after the high-schooler mistakenly came to his Kansas City home entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, and the judge scheduled his trial for next year. Andrew Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl. The trial in the case, which shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America, was scheduled to begin on Oct. 7, 2024.Some supporters joined Yarl’s mother in the courtroom, their T-shirts reading “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” were turned inside out. Family friend Philip Barrolle said they wore the shirts that way Wednesday after being told by the court the shirts were a problem. Supporters have worn them in the past, but an order issued Monday barred “outbreaks, signs, or displays of any kind.”“It is up to us to have our presence felt,” Barrolle com...

As UN Security Council takes up Ukraine, a potentially dramatic meeting may be at hand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — All eyes will be on Ukraine’s president and Russia’s top diplomat at a U.N. Security Council meeting Wednesday: Will they clash? Will they speak? Will they avoid each other entirely?The meeting’s topic is deeply relevant to those questions: It’s about upholding the U.N. Charter in Ukraine. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres minced no words this week in reiterating that Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor violated the charter’s underpinning — that the 193 U.N. member nations respect each others’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.The U.N. chief will brief the 15-member council and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, making his first in-person appearance before the U.N.’s most powerful body, is on tap to follow him. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is No. 11 on the list, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to follow him.The meeting on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world ...

Biden uses executive power to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.In an announcement Wednesday, the White House said the program will employ more than 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost.Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorizing what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps. “After years of demonstrating and fighting for a Climate Corps, we turned a generational rallying cry into a real jobs program that will put a new generat...

Thai king’s estranged son urges open discussion of monarchy, in rejection of anti-defamation law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — An estranged son of Thailand’s king who has spent almost all his adult life away from his homeland has unexpectedly gone public with his belief that open discussions about the country’s monarchy should be allowed, in a rejection of a harsh royal anti-defamation law.Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, one of the king’s five sons, posted his opinion on Facebook after attending a photo exhibition in New York about people who have been charged under the law, Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code. The so-called lese majeste law makes insulting the monarch, his immediate family and the regent punishable by up to 15 years in prison per offense.“I love and cherish the monarchy, but I believe it is better to know than not knowing. Every person has their own opinion based on their own experiences. Not listening to them doesn’t make their viewpoints or opinions disappear,” wrote Vacharaesorn, who works at a law firm in New York. “It’s another story whether you agree or disagre...

FDA says it needs more research before deciding to approve nasal spray to treat dangerous allergies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

Federal regulators declined to approve a nasal spray to treat severe allergic reactions late Tuesday, calling for more research on what would have been the first alternative to injections using devices such as an EpiPen. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, that the company needs to conduct another study on repeat doses of epinephrine, a drug that halts potentially life-threating reactions, called anaphylaxis, using the company’s nasal spray device compared with injections. The move comes four months after an FDA advisory committee recommended approval of the device, dubbed neffy. The FDA is not required to follow the committee’s recommendations, though it usually does. Richard Lowenthal, president and chief executive of ARS, said in a statement that the company would appeal the FDA’s decision and resubmit an application in early 2024. The ARS product is one of several needle-free devices being developed to treat danger...

Did missing ex-NFL player Sergio Brown post videos about mother’s death? Police are investigating

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

MAYWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Police in suburban Chicago are checking on the authenticity of Instagram videos that appear to show missing former NFL player Sergio Brown discussing the recent death of his mother, who died following an assault.Brown, 35, is still considered a missing person, Maywood police spokesperson Carmen Rivera said in an email Tuesday, acknowledging police were aware of the videos and were investigating. Rivera did not immediately return messages Wednesday seeking an update.In a video posted Monday to an Instagram page that appears to belong to Sergio Brown, a man resembling Brown calls reports about the death of his 73-year-old mother, Myrtle Brown, “fake news.”“Fake news, fake news, fake news. It has to be the FBI,” the man says in the rambling, expletive-filled video, in which he says he thought his mother “was on vacation” in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.In another video posted to his Instagram story Tuesday, the man references the film “Finding Nemo,” repeating the ...

High school in Dolton moves to e-learning due to flooding; officials to provide update on efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

CALUMET CITY, Ill. — South suburban emergency officials will be in Calumet City Wednesday following Sunday's storms that caused widespread flooding damage.The damage was so bad at Dolton's Thornridge High School students will be learning remotely Wednesday and Thursday. Flooding damaged the heating and electrical systems at the school.Nine-to-10 inches of rain fell Sunday causing sewers to back up and streets to flood — as well as homes.On Wednesday, city and county leaders will discuss the clean-up effort — as well as pass along information for people looking for some help.FEMA is already on the ground after a federal disaster declaration was made for flooding that happened back in late June and July. That disaster recovery center opened last week at the Calumet City Library. Clean up underway after suburban high school has flooding In a statement, the mayor of Calumet City said the infrustructure has been neglected for more than 35 years and ...

Biden campaign launches strategy to combat misinformation on social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:14 GMT

President Biden’s reelection campaign is creating a working group centered on combating misinformation on social media networks, a Biden campaign official told The Hill on Wednesday.The group will be led by Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager; Michael Tyler, communications director; and Maury Riggan, general counsel, as well as aides from the rapid response communications team and legal team.The goal of the cross-campaign effort is to publicly push back on disinformation with “an army of folks” who can push back get information out to the public like Biden campaign officials, allies, surrogates and influencers. “Social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of how their platforms affect the American people, but make independent choices about how they enforce their standards,” said Flaherty, the former White House director of digital strategy.“The campaign is going to have to be more aggressive pushing back on misinformation from a communications perspective...