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House GOP approves Defense bill that restricts abortion access and halts diversity initiatives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House on Friday approved a sweeping annual defense bill that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with political add-ons from Republicans to block abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender issues that deeply divided the chamber.Democrats voted against the package, which had sailed out of the House Armed Services Committee on an almost unanimous vote just weeks ago, but was being loaded up with the Republican priorities during a heated late-night floor debate heading into Friday’s session. The final vote was 219-210, with four Democrats voting with the GOP, and four Republicans opposed. The bill is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-majority Senate.Efforts to halt U.S. funding for Ukraine in the war against Russia were turned back, but Republicans tacked on provisions to stem the Defense Departme...

Architect identified as suspect in Long Island serial killings, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY (AP) — A man arrested in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings on Long Island known as the Gilgo Beach murders has been identified as Rex Heuermann, an architect living across a bay from where some of the bodies were found, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday, the official said. Investigators, some in protective suits, searched his home Friday. Heuermann is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in state court in Riverhead. Officials have scheduled a press conference to discuss the charges.The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.A message seeking comment was left with Heuermann’s lawyer. Voice and email messages were left at Heuermann’s Manhattan office and at possible numbers for his home and family...

Suspect in death of 12-year-old boy in Mattapan to be released on bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

The older brother of the 12-year-old boy shot and killed in Mattapan was arraigned Friday on gun charges in connection to the fatal shooting.Walter Hendrick, 22, of Mattapan, was arraigned at municipal court in Dorchester on charges of improper storage and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. Hendrick is expected to post $2,500 bail and return to court on Sept. 6.Hendrick’s arrest was announced late Thursday, just hours after the 2:06 p.m. call that sent police to the horrifying scene where a 12-year-old boy was suffering from gunshot wounds inside 35 Fessenden St. in Mattapan.The boy was rushed by ambulance to Boston Medical Center but pronounced dead there at 2:42 p.m., according to a police report filed with the court.It was apartment two in the triple-decker where the alleged crime was purported to have happened, according to a reading of the charges by the clerk in the First Session Courtroom.Another child, age 9, was also in the apartment at the time of the inciden...

Prosecutor says Kevin Spacey is not just a ‘big flirt,’ but a ‘big sexual bully’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Kevin Spacey denied that grabbing men by the crotch was his “trademark” pickup move as he became testy under questioning Friday by the prosecutor at his sexual assault trial in a London courtroom.In a heated exchange that required intervention by the judge, Spacey was asked about allegations he aggressively grabbed a man backstage at a charity event in a theater.“Absolute bollocks!” Spacey replied to titters from the gallery in the packed courtroom.“Yes, because that’s exactly where you did grab him, isn’t it?” Prosecutor Christine Agnew snapped back.“Really?” Spacey said as he looked up in disbelief at Justice Mark Wall. “Did he accuse me of grabbing his bollocks?”Someone said, “Yes,” and Wall told him to answer the prosecutor’s question. “I did not,” Spacey said.The two-time Oscar winner stuck to his testimony from a day earlier in which he insisted he never sexually assaulted three of the four accusers who alleged disturbing encounters ...

China’s Shein hit with lawsuit citing RICO violations, a law originally used against organized crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

China’s fast fashion retailer Shein is facing a lawsuit that claims the clothing maker’s copyright infringement is so aggressive, it amounts to racketeering.The filing this week claims that Shein is in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, a law originally crafted to prosecute organized crime. “Shein has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, as part of a long and continuous pattern of racketeering, which shows no sign of abating,” the filing says.In an organized effort to create as many as 6,000 new items per day, Shein uses a “byzantine shell game of a corporate structure” to rip off designers, a coordinated illegal operation that can best be combated through the use of RICO statutes, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit is just the latest in a series of difficulties Shein has faced. In May a bipartisan group of two dozen lawmakers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to put t...

‘Deeply disappointed’: Mayor Crombie denounces planned anti-2SLGBTQI+ protest in Mississauga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie says she’s “deeply disappointed” to learn about an anti-Pride rally scheduled for this weekend at Celebration Square near Mississauga City Hall.“As your Mayor, I strongly believe in the principles of inclusivity, acceptance, and equality and strongly denounce this rally,” she wrote in a statement.“I want to make it clear that I stand firmly against any actions or events that seek to promote discrimination or undermine the rights and dignity of our 2SLGBTQI+ community.”Crombie said she’s contacted Peel Regional Police and the City’s security teams to raise concerns about Saturday’s rally, but notes that since Celebration Square is a public place “we cannot stop the event from proceeding unless the group finds themselves in violation of the law.”“Police, in collaboration with City security will be present at the Square during the rally to ensure the peace and security of all ...

Novak Djokovic defeats Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon to reach the final and near an eighth title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic closed in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row by repeatedly serving his way out of potential trouble to beat Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the semifinals on Friday.Djokovic saved all six break points he faced — including a pair that were set points for the eighth-seeded Sinner at 5-4 in the third — and reached his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.He is seeking a 24th major singles championship overall to set the mark for the most in the Open era, which began in 1968. Roger Federer is the only man to have won eight singles trophies at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova won the women’s championship nine times.Djokovic will meet No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or No. 3 Daniil Medvedev for the trophy on Sunday. Alacaraz and Medvedev were scheduled to play their semifinal later Friday.Because of rain in the morning, all four re...

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant prepares to release diluted radioactive water into the sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

FUTABA, Japan (AP) — At Japan’s tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, giant blue pipes have been constructed to bring in torrents of seawater to dilute treated, radioactive water under a plan to discharge it gradually into the Pacific Ocean.Workers were making final preparations as Associated Press journalists received a rare opportunity Friday to get a look at key equipment and facilities for the release, expected in coming weeks or months.The International Atomic Energy Agency has looked at Japan’s wastewater-release plan and said it would cause negligible radioactivity in the sea and no effect on neighboring countries. But the plans continue to draw strong protest and no starting date has been set. Japan’s fishing industry fears it will destroy the reputation of the country’s seafood, and groups in South Korea and China also have raised concerns. Hong Kong announced Wednesday it would ban seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures once the release begins, and B...

Cypriot official says probe backs Mossad claims that hitman plotted to kill Israelis on the island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police investigations support claims by Israel’s Mossad spy service that an Iranian-backed hit squad planned to kill Israelis and other Jews in the east Mediterranean island nation, an official said Friday.The intelligence official told The Associated Press that Cypriot police had tracked an Iranian national identified as Yusef Shahabazi Abbasalilu following information from “friendly intelligence services.”Subsequent probes into his activities indicated there was a plot for such killings, with at least one person on a hit list, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigations. According to the official, Abbasalilu initially attempted to set up base and recruit others in the ethnically divided island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, where its internationally recognized authorities have no access.Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. No country recognizes a T...

Kenyan religious leaders urge the president to repeal a new tax law as protests surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Christian and Muslim leaders in Kenya are urging President William Ruto to repeal a finance bill whose new taxes have sparked protests and police killings of civilians, warning that Kenyans face a level of hopelessness that “can easily inspire insurrection.”Friday’s statement by national religious organizations came as the main political opposition group announced the next protest would take place next Wednesday, and as Ruto declared it would not be allowed.Human rights watchdogs have asserted that police killed as many as 10 people in the latest protests this week, while a police official told The Associated Press that officers killed at least six across the country for disturbing businesses. Meanwhile, more than 50 children were sent to a medical clinic after tear gas was thrown into a school in the capital, Nairobi.“Firearms should never be used to disperse protests,” the United Nations human rights office said Friday. It urged Kenyan authorities to ensure t...