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US judge in Texas dismisses charges against Swiss banker allegedly tied to Venezuela bribery scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in Houston has dismissed criminal charges against a Swiss banker accused of helping stash millions in bribes paid to senior Venezuelan oil officials over long delays in bringing the case to trial.Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled Wednesday that unjustified trial delays violated Paulo Murta’s constitutional right to a speedy trial within 70 days of being charged.Murta was indicted in 2019 on money laundering charges as part of a sprawling multi-year investigation into corruption at Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA. He was extradited to the United States by his native Portugal after a lengthy legal fight and spent nine months in pre-trial detention before being released last year on $75,000 bond.Prosecutors asked Hoyt to stay his order for at least seven days while they file an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals, which oversees federal proceedings in Houston.“Murta is charged for his role in a sprawling foreign bribery and money laundering schem...

‘Embarrassed’: Alberta UCP candidate sorry for comparing transgender kids to feces

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

EDMONTON — A United Conservative Party candidate who compared transgender children in schools to having feces in food says she is sorry, plans to learn from it and is staying on to run in the May 29 Alberta election.“I apologize for the way I discussed these issues in September of 2022,” Jennifer Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “I have nothing but love and compassion for everyone equally and am embarrassed that I have caused hurt in this way.”Johnson added that she is concerned about potentially life-altering medical procedures for children.“This is an extremely sensitive topic for so many and I need to do a much better job communicating my concerns and objectives in a manner that is respectful to teachers, parents and those in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.“If elected as an MLA, I will seek advice and counsel on how to best communicate my views and discuss these issues meaningfully moving forward.”Johnson is running to enter the legislature for the first time as a can...

Parents hope to keep Tennessee school shooter’s ‘dangerous and harmful’ writings secret

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of Tennessee parents whose children attend The Covenant School, where a deadly shooting in March took the lives of three 9-year-olds and three adults, filed a motion Wednesday seeking to keep the shooter’s writings from being released to the public.“The Parents see no good that can come from the release and wish to contend that the writings — which they believe are the dangerous and harmful writings of a mentally-damaged person — should not be released at all,” their filling reads.Their motion comes just days after more than 60 Tennessee House Republicans called for the writings to be released. In a Monday letter to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison said the timely release of the records is “critical to understanding the shooter’s behavior and motives” before lawmakers convene for a special session where they are expected to consider a proposal to remove firearms from people judged dangerous ...

She killed a man while he was raping her, and a court in Mexico sentenced her to 6 years in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican woman who killed a man defending herself when he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, a decision her legal defense called “discriminatory” and vowed to appeal Tuesday.The ruling against Roxana Ruiz spurred anger from experts and feminist groups who said it speaks to the depth of gender-based violence and Mexico’s poor record of bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice.“It would be a bad precedent if this sentence were to hold. It’s sending the message to women that, you know what, the law says you can defend yourself, but only to a point,” said Ángel Carrera, her defense lawyer. “He raped you, but you don’t have the right to do anything.”The Associated Press does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Ruiz has given her permission to be identified and participates in public demonstrations led by activists who support her.While the Mexico State court found Monday that Ruiz had been raped, it ...

New rule targets college programs that leave grads with low income, high debt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — College programs that leave graduates underpaid or buried in loans would be cut off from federal money under a proposal issued Wednesday by the Biden administration, but the rules would apply only to for-profit colleges and a tiny fraction of programs at traditional universities.The Education Department is calling it a significant step toward accountability for the nation’s colleges. With more students questioning the value of a degree, the measure aims to weed out low-performing programs and assure students the cost of tuition will pay off in the long run.“Investing in a college degree or career certificate is supposed to pay off — instead, too many students are getting ripped off every single year,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a call with reporters.Opponents, however, say the scope is too narrow to help most students.Known as gainful employment, it revives an Obama-era policy that was dismantled by the Trump administration before it took full...

Montana becomes 1st state to ban TikTok; law likely to be challenged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana became the first state in the U.S. to completely ban TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that’s more sweeping than any other state’s attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company. The measure is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. “Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said in a statement.TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued that the law infringes on people’s First Amendment rights and is unlawful.“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,...

Attorneys agree to pause federal litigation for water violations in Mississippi’s capital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Attorneys for the federal government, Mississippi and the state’s capital city have agreed to request to delay litigation from a complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that said the city wasn’t meeting standards for providing reliable drinking water. In a Wednesday court filing, government attorneys asked for a six-month stay, which would be the second such order. It’s part of a broader federal push to fix Jackson’s water system, which nearly collapsed last summer and continues to have problems with broken pipes and leaks. In November, the Justice Department filed a complaint on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, arguing that Jackson has failed to provide drinking water reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act. An agreement between federal officials and the city put that litigation on hold for six months. U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate then appointed Ted Henifin, who spent 15 years mana...

Warning issued on surgery in Mexican border city after suspected cases of meningitis, 1 death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — State and federal health officials are warning U.S. residents to cancel planned surgeries in a Mexico border city after five people from Texas who got procedures there came back and developed suspected cases of fungal meningitis. One of them died, officials said.The five people who became ill traveled to Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, for surgical procedures that included the use of an epidural, an anesthetic injected near the spinal column, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Tuesday. Four remain hospitalized, and one of them later died.Those who became ill range in age from 30 to 50 years old, the department said.The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory Tuesday for U.S. residents seeking medical care in Matamoros. Meningitis is the swelling of the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord and should be treated urgently. Symptoms include fever, headache, a stiff neck, nausea, vomi...

Prosecutor in Ralph Yarl case says legal precedent favors keeping court records open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor is asking a judge to carefully consider the public’s right to information while determining whether to seal court records in the case of Andrew Lester, a white homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly came to his home.Lester’s attorney, Steven Salmon, filed a motion May 1 asking a judge to seal court records. He argued that local and national publicity surrounding the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City had created a bias against his client and would make it difficult to find an impartial jury.In a motion filed Tuesday, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson did not specifically oppose the request but said legal precedent has established a “strong presumption” in favor of keeping court records open.Lester, 84, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is accused of shooting Yarl twice after he mistakenly came to Lester’s home looking for hi...

Television writers strike in front of NBC Tower in the Loop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:59 GMT

CHICAGO — Members of a television writers union formed picket lines in the Loop Wednesday as a part of a nationwide strike, which has forced the late night comedy shows to go dark, and has delayed a number of other Hollywood television and film productions.Writers Guild of America (WGA) members picketed in front of the NBC Tower in downtown Chicago as part of a strike that has stopped the production of late-night comedy shows, and postponed the production of numerous other shows and television series, including the Showtime series The Chi, which is shot in Chicago.“We are watching the stability of television and film writing as a job, as a viable career, basically being erased,” said Martin Zimmerman, a WGA member and writer on the shows Narcos and Ozarks.The WGA represents at least 11,500 TV, film, radio and online writers, with about 100 of them living and working in Chicago. Daytime Emmy Awards postponed because of writers strike Those striking are asking for pay increases, whi...