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Romania: Andrew Tate’s detention replaced with house arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official said Friday.The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Tate’s appeal, which challenged a judge’s decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT.Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 5.4 million Twitter followers, was initially detained in late December in Romania’s capital Bucharest, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women.All four won an appeal Friday, and will remain under house arrest until Apr. 29, Bolla said. None of the four has yet been formally indicted. The court ruled in favor of their immediate release. Prosecutors cannot challenge the appeal court’s decision, which was final, Bolla added.Tate, a professional k...

Trump indictment not expected to affect Wisconsin court race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The indictment of former President Donald Trump will likely have little impact on the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race to be decided next week, as Democrats try to flip majority control of the court with the fate of abortion access in the state on the line, those closely watching the contest said Friday.Trump has not been directly involved in the race, did not endorse anyone, and the Republican-backed candidate has tried to distance his connections with the former president and the GOP. Additionally, Trump’s support among Republicans appears to be waning in the battleground state that he barely won in 2016 and then lost by a similar margin in 2020.“While this (indictment) may get the juice flowing with some of his supporters, some may have a head shake and shoulder shrug,” said longtime Republican strategist and former state GOP party leader Brandon Scholz. “This indictment thing isn’t really tied into this race. It is a Trump issue.”Ch...

Historic Trump indictment could open door to future political prosecutions: expert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

WASHINGTON — The United States found itself in uncharted territory Friday, confronting the as-yet-unknown political, judicial and social repercussions of having an ex-president face criminal charges for the first time in its history.The indictment of Donald Trump was generating far more questions than answers, thanks to the fact that it will remain sealed until the former commander-in-chief is arraigned next week in New York City.But whatever happens, the complex executive-branch relationship between America’s elected leaders and its prosecutors may never be the same. “It is potentially terrifying,” said Neama Rahmani, a former assistant U.S. attorney who now operates a personal injury practice in California. Rahmani served in the second Bush administration under attorney general Alberto Gonzales, whose decision to abruptly fire seven U.S. attorneys in 2006 prompted charges of political interference, which Gonzales denied. Allegations began to fly that the firings ...

Alex Murdugh to be kept in protective custody in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina prison officials have decided to keep former attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh in a special protective unit as he begins serving his life sentence for killing his wife and son.Mental health and prison experts determined that Murdaugh should be kept in protective custody after they reviewed his case, including the enormous amount of publicity it garnered and psychiatric and other tests, the state Department of Corrections said in a news release Friday.The protective unit houses 28 prisoners who each have their own cells and enjoy the same privileges as other inmates. Prison officials said they weren’t disclosing the unit’s location due to security concerns.Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and younger son in June 2021 at the family’s home in Colleton County. Investigators said that after shooting them, Murdaugh cleaned up, ditched the weapons and visited his ailing mother before returning home and calling 911 to ...

Court: 2018 Musk tweet unlawfully threatened UAW efforts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a March 2021 order by the National Labor Relations Board, which ordered that the tweet be deleted. The case arose from United Auto Workers’ organizing efforts at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California.Also upheld was the board’s order that Tesla reinstate and provide back pay to an employee who was fired for union-organizing activity.Musk tweeted on May 20, 2018: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.”The ruling said that “because stock options are part of Tesl...

Freeland says drop in foreign-aid spending is not a cut, Ukraine fight is pivotal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland insists the government’s projected $1.3-billion drop in foreign aid spending does not amount to a cut.The Liberal budget released this week projects that Ottawa will spend nearly $6.9 billion for international development in the coming fiscal year, which is a 16 per cent drop from last year’s allocation.That’s despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tasking International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan to increase aid spending every year.The Liberals had delivered a historic boost in aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Asked about criticism from the aid sector about the cut, Freeland said she “wouldn’t characterize it that way.”She stressed that Canada is allocating $2.4 billion in direct financial aid to Ukraine, and called that country’s fight the world’s most important struggle. The Liberals have also allocated funding for infrastructure projects in developing...

Judge: Dominion defamation case against Fox will go to trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A voting machine company’s defamation case against Fox News over its airing of false allegations about the 2020 presidential election will go to trial after a Delaware judge on Friday allowed a jury to decide whether the conservative network aired the claims with actual malice, the standard for proving libel.Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that neither Fox nor Dominion Voting Systems had presented a convincing argument to prevail on whether Fox acted with malice without the case going to a jury. But he also ruled that the statements Dominion had challenged constitute defamation “per se” under New York law. That means Dominion did not have to prove damages to establish liability by Fox.“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote in his summary judgment ruling.The decision paves the way for a trial start in mid-April...

2 men get 220-year terms in Indianapolis for killing 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two men convicted of murder and other charges in the fatal Indianapolis shootings of three young men and a young woman were both sentenced Friday to 220 years in prison.Cameron Banks and Desmond Banks were sentenced after being convicted in early March of four counts each of murder, felony murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury following a five-day trial.A third co-defendant, Lasean Watkins, was convicted on the same charges, but his Friday sentencing was reset for April 28 and he was appointed a new attorney.The charges stem from the February 2020 shooting deaths of three men — Marcel Wills, 20; Braxton Ford, 21; and Jalen Roberts, 19 — and a woman, Kimari Hunt, 21. The victims’ bodies were found in a ransacked Indianapolis apartment.“This case serves as a tragic reminder of the lasting effects of gun violence,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement announcing Friday’s sentences.WXIN-TV reported that Cameron Banks and...

What is causing this severe weather system?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

A Tornado watch issued will cover the Chicago Metro Area through this evening per the NWS Storm Prediction Center in the wake of the warmest temps of 2023. Readings have flirted with 70-deg. Midway has hit 70. It's the first time temps have exceeded 60-deg this year and Chicago's warmest temp since a 76 at O'Hare back on Nov. 10—nearly 5 months ago.Such warmth renders the air buoyant. It want to rise—cooling in the process and producing clouds and thunderstorms.Powerhouse overhead winds with a directional and velocity shift is occurring with height late Friday. This is important in many ways and increases the severe weather risk.  Live Chicago severe weather: Tornado watch, storms through Friday night For one, it means thunderstorms poke up into powerful upper winds—allowing them to divert wind energy to the surface in powerful and potentially damaging wind gusts. Severe storm winds are selective in where they produce their strongest winds—but where they do in coming hour, the pot...

VIDEO: Tornado emergency issued for Little Rock and nearby areas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:31:20 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for Arkansas's capital of Little Rock and surrounding areas on Friday, warning that 350,000 people are in danger from a “confirmed large and destructive tornado.”Forecasters say “a large and destructive” tornado touched down Friday afternoon in Little Rock and North Little Rock. The violent twister was seen in video posted online plowing through neighborhoods and business districts of Little Rock and surrounding areas. Aerial footage showed several rooftops reduced to splinters in Little Rock and nearby Benton, vehicles were toppled over and debris was scattered across roadways.There were no immediate reports of injuries. Passengers and airport employees at Clinton National Airport in Little Rock took shelter in bathrooms. Dangerous storms and tornadoes forecast for the Midwest and South Video Credit: Timothy Smith via StoryfulMassive storms brewing over at least 15 state...