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Trial date set for Steve Bannon’s fundraising fraud case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Bannon, the conservative strategist and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, will stand trial next May on charges that he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S. southern border, a judge said Thursday.Judge Juan Manuel Merchan set Bannon’s trial in the “We Build the Wall” case for May 28, 2024, amending his calendar after realizing that the date he announced in court — May 27 — is next year’s Memorial Day holiday, when courts will be closed.If the schedule holds, Bannon will stand trial soon after Trump is slated to do so in the same Manhattan courtroom in an unrelated criminal case.Bannon, 69, pleaded not guilty last September following his indictment on state money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took up the case after Bannon’s federal prosecution was cut short by a Trump pardon. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not state offenses.Banno...

Man arrested after car driven at gates of Downing Street in London

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

London (CNN) — A man has been arrested after a car was driven at the gates of Downing Street in London, the official residence of the UK prime minister, police said Thursday.In video broadcast by the BBC, a small silver car can be seen driving at slow speed across Whitehall, the main thoroughfare that passes the end of Downing Street, directly at the wrought-iron gates that prevent public access to the heart of the UK government.British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in Downing Street at the time of the incident on Thursday, but has since left for a scheduled visit, the BBC reported.Armed police detained the man on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving following the incident, the Metropolitan Police said. There were no reports of any injuries.Westminster police later said that the incident was not being treated as terror-related.“A small cordon remains in place outside Downing Street after a car collided with the gates earlier this afternoon. The incident is being ...

Bear spotted in Marion, goes for a swim in Buzzards Bay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

Many in Marion recently noted an unusual sight as they spotted a black bear going for a swim in town. The bear was seen jumping off a dock and taking a dip in the waters of Buzzards Bay in one video posted on Facebook by local boatyard Saltworks Marine. The town of Marion issued a statement Thursday, saying police had received several calls reporting bear sightings throughout town.While officials said the bear had not been seen being aggressive, to date, officials also shared reminders of ways to stay safe around bears. Learn more here. 

Ticker: More seek jobless benefits last week; Rhode Island sues over ‘forever chemicals’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

U.S. applications for jobless claims rose slightly last week but remain at healthy levels with companies reticent to let go of employees in a tight labor market.The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending May 20 rose by 4,000 to 229,000 from 225,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s number was revised down by a significant 17,000.Analysts have pointed to a sustained increase in the four-week averages as a sign that layoffs are accelerating, but are reluctant to predict that a spike in layoffs is imminent.Overall, 1.8 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended May 13, about 5,000 more than the previous week.Rhode Island sues over  ‘forever chemicals’Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed a lawsuit Thursday against the manufacturers of so-called “forever chemicals,” commonly referred to as PFAS, saying they have caused significant harm to the stat...

Police issue warning for ‘prolific violent offender’ who may be in GTA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

Peel police have issued a public safety alert for a “prolific violent offender” who may be in the GTA.In a brief release Thursday afternoon, police say 39-year-old Kyle Andrews is a federal parolee who is currently wanted for multiple violent offences including firearms charges, assault, uttering threats and forcible confinement. Police say he may be driving a 2014 white Mercedes GLK SUV with licence plate CXCC550.“Kyle is to be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached,” said police. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

Texas lawmakers recommend impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton after Republican investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton teetered on the brink of impeachment Thursday after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations that the state’s Republican majority had largely met with silence for years until now. In an unanimous decision, a Republican-led investigative committee that spent months quietly looking into Paxton recommended impeaching the state’s top lawyer. The state House of Representatives could vote on the recommendation as soon as Friday. If the House impeaches Paxton, he would be forced to leave office immediately. The move sets set up a remarkably sudden downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Only two other officials in Texas’ nearly 200-year history have been impeached. Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separate...

2023 Doors Open Toronto event will have 150 sites available for exploration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Doors Open Toronto will be running a full slate of in-person sites open for public exploration.One of the highlights of the 2023 edition of Doors Open Toronto, which runs on May 27 and 28, will be an open house at the TTC’s McCowan Yard — the facility that houses all Scarborough RT trains.“This is something I think, to be honest, is a bit bittersweet,” TTC spokesperson Shabnum Durrani told CityNews during a tour of the carhouse on Thursday.“As everybody knows, we are going to be decommissioning the SRT in November, so this is really the last chance for people to come in and see the home of the SRT.”Building of the facility, located on Ellesmere Road east of McCowan station, began in 1983 — two years before the Scarborough RT went into service. The carhouse and the yard is 4.1 million square feet.However, in recent years, it’s taken an extraordinary effort to keep Line 3 running beyo...

Pennsylvania doctor sentenced in West Virginia to 6 months in pain pill scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Pennsylvania doctor was sentenced to six months in federal prison Thursday for his role in a pain pill prescription scheme.Dr. Brian Gullett also was fined $5,000 and surrendered his medical license.Gullett, 46, of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty last September to a felony count of aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.Gullett was indicted in 2018 along with the owners, managers and other physicians associated with the Hope Clinic and a group that managed Hope’s daily operations. Hope Clinic had offices in Beckley, Beaver, and Charleston, West Virginia, and in Wytheville, Virginia. Five other physicians have pleaded guilty. The remaining defendants are awaiting trial.West Virginia has by far the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate.“The criminal conduct in this case exploited and worsened an already devastating opioid crisis,” Will Thompson, the U.S. attorney for West Virginia’s southern district, said in ...

Minnesota governor signs paid family and medical leave act to give workers up to 20 weeks off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota workers will be entitled to paid time off when they’re seriously ill or to care for newborns and loved ones starting in 2026 under a bill that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed Thursday, making his state the 12th to require those benefits.The paid family and medical leave program will allow Minnesota workers up to 12 weeks a year off with partial pay to care for a newborn or a sick family member, and up to 12 weeks to recover from their own serious illness. Benefits will be capped at 20 weeks a year for employees who take advantage of both.Business groups fought to block the proposal, warning that it would impose heavy costs and regulatory burdens on employers and aggravate their staffing problems. But it was hailed by supporters who said it would bring equality and fairness to the workplace.“Everyone deserves paid time away from work, to heal, to grow, and to live,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said at the signing ceremony. “This time is not optional...

Putin reports progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying only technical issues remain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:42 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that “strictly technical” issues remain in resolving one of the main disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, neighbors that fought a war over a contested territory.Putin met in Moscow with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussing a dispute over a winding road called the Lachin Corridor. That’s the only authorized connection between Armenia and the contested territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, and it’s a lifeline for supplies to the region’s approximately 120,000 people. Aliyev and Pashinyan, in a broader regional summit meeting Putin hosted in Moscow, lashed out at each other for their positions regarding the land corridor. But Putin said that on the “principal issues, there is an agreement,” and later said all that remained were “surmountable obstacles,” calling them differences in terminology and “strictly technical.” He said representatives of Russia, Armenia and A...