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Saudi Arabia frees American imprisoned over critical tweets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Monday freed an American citizen, a 72-year-old Florida retiree, it had imprisoned for more than a year over his old tweets critical of the kingdom’s crown prince, his son said.Neither Saudi nor U.S. officials immediately confirmed the release of Saad al Madi, a longtime Florida, resident. But progress on his release had been rumored since last week.Madi on Monday night was at home with family members who live in Riyadh, said his son, Ibrahim al Madi, in the United States. Saudi officials dropped all charges against the elder Madi, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen. But it was not immediately clear whether the kingdom would lift a travel ban it had imposed to follow the prison sentence.Saudi Arabia had sentenced Madi last year to 16 years in prison, saying his critical tweets about how the kingdom was being governed amounted to terrorist acts against it.As U.S. officials worked to win his release, and after President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia last ...

Australia charges ex-soldier with murder over Afghan killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police have charged the first Australian veteran with murder for a killing in Afghanistan three years after a war crimes investigation found that 19 Australian special forces soldiers could face charges for illegal conduct.Former Special Air Service Regiment trooper Oliver Schulz, 41, was arrested in New South Wales state and charged by police with the war crime of murder, an Australian Federal Police statement said.“It will be alleged he murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan,” the statement said.Schulz’s charge was mentioned late Monday in a Queanbeyan court where his lawyer did not apply for his release on bail. Schulz was remanded in custody to appear in a Sydney court on May 16.Australian Broadcasting Corp. broadcast helmet camera video in 2020 of a soldier it said was Schulz shooting an Afghan man in 2012 in a wheat field in Uruzgan province.Schulz, who was awarded the Commendation for Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan, fac...

Former police chief Mark Saunders to run for Mayor of Toronto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders confirmed he would run to become the city’s next mayor, citing a desire to make public transit safe for riders and expand affordable housing.Saunders served as police chief from 2015 to 2020, when he retired. Saunders was ultimately replaced by interim police chief James Ramer, who served until the recent appointment of Myron Demkiw.In a statement, Saunders specifically mentioned public transit security, noting, “If people don’t feel safe walking down the street or on the TTC, nothing else matters.”“We have many problems in Toronto to tackle, and it starts with public safety,” Saunders said. “I don’t want to see any more lockdowns of elementary schools. Not another story of a woman getting attacked on a streetcar. No more gangs shooting up townhouses where children are sleeping. Enough.”Saunders, the city’s first Black police chief, said Toronto is “at a tipping point” a...

New law puts Wyoming at forefront of abortion pill bans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming has pushed to the front of state efforts to prohibit the most common type of abortion by instituting the nation’s first explicit ban on pills that terminate pregnancies. In many states women can get abortion pills prescribed online and delivered to their homes. The ease and availability of pills have made that method the most popular way to end a pregnancy – more than half of all abortions are done with that method, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion access advocacy group.But 13 states now effectively ban abortion pills by prohibiting all forms of abortion, moves made after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling last year.Fifteen states restrict access to the pills. Of those, six — Arizona, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and South Carolina — require a doctor to administer them in person. Arizona also bans mailing abortion pills. But before a law signed Friday by Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gor...

Los Angeles schools to close as district workers plan strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District planned to walk off the job Tuesday over stalled contract talks, and they will be joined in solidarity by teachers in a three-day strike that will shut down the nation’s second-largest school system. Demonstrations are expected at schools across the city by members of Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.The workers were expected to join picket lines before dawn, demanding better wages and increased staffing. The district has more than 500,000 students from Los Angeles and all or part of 25 other cities and unincorporated county areas.Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho accused the union of refusing to negotiate and said that he was prepared to meet at any time day or night. He said Monday a “golden opportunity” to make progress ...

'Let's go girls': Shania Twain coming to Tinley Park this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

TINLEY PARK, Ill. -- Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain will be in the Chicagoland area this summer for one night only.Shania Twain will host her "Queen of Me Tour" at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 1 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. Pitchfork Music Festival announces 2023 full lineup and concert dates Twain released her sixth studio album, "Queen of Me," on Feb. 3.She became widely known for her hit songs "Man! I Feel Like A Woman," "Any Man Of Mine," and "That Don't Impress Me Much."For ticket information, click here.

Tranq making 'deadliest drug threat' in US ‘even deadlier,' DEA warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (WPIX) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a public safety alert warning Americans about the widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer commonly referred to as “tranq.”"Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier," said DEA Administrator Ann Milgram. "DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states." ‘We’re not ready’ for ‘tranq’ in NYC, addiction expert says The DEA said xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug overdose. Xylazine is an FDA-approved drug used in animals as a sedative and pain reliever. It can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature to critical levels. The side effects in humans, which can be serious and life-threatening, are much like those typically seen with opioid use. Despite this, the DEA warns naloxone, or Narcan, can't be used to reverse the effects of ...

Louisville blows out Texas at home 73-51 to move on to women's Sweet 16

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns suffered their worst home loss of the season Monday, falling 73-51 to Louisville in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Moody Center.The loss eliminates the Longhorns from the tournament and they finish the season with a 26-10 record. Louisville, the No. 5 seed in the region, now goes to Seattle to take on No. 8 Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 on Friday. The Rebels pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, knocking off top-seeded Stanford 54-49.Texas head coach Vic Schaefer, right, argues a call during the first half of a second-round college basketball game against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Monday, March 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith (10) drives around Texas forward Taylor Jones (44) during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Monday, March 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Texas guard Shaylee Gonzales ...

APD searching for suspect vehicle in central Austin hit-and-run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is searching for a suspect wanted in connection to a central Austin hit-and-run that occurred March 11, according to an APD news release.Shortly before 7 p.m., APD officers responded to a crash between an unknown vehicle and a cyclist near Guadalupe Street and Nelray Boulevard, according to police.According to the preliminary investigation, the cyclist was headed east on Nelray Boulevard, when the driver of an unidentified vehicle driving north on Guadalupe Street ran the stop sign and hit the cyclist.The driver of the vehicle, who was not identified by police Monday, stopped briefly but left the area without checking on the victim or calling 911, the release said. The driver left the scene through the parking lot of 5426 Guadalupe St., police said.The victim was taken to Dell Children's Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and has since been released, according to police.The suspect vehicle is described below:Possibly an SUV ...

Texas senate passes bill on harsher penalties for tampering with ankle monitors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Monday, the Texas Senate passed a bill that would make it a crime for a person to knowingly remove or disable and ankle monitor tracking device that they're required to wear as a condition of house arrest, parole or release on bail.According to Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), the bill's author, 76,940 people are currently on parole in Texas, and 4,315 of them have a monitoring device. She said in the last year, 1,127 monitor straps were either cut, or an active warrant remains for a cut strap. Gov. Abbott wants more penalties for ankle monitor violations Currently, it is only a parole violation to tamper with or destroy an ankle monitor. The bill would make it either a third-degree or state-jail felony to do so. A state-jail felony, according to the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA), is one step below a third-degree felony. The charges would also apply if the person used a third-party to tamper with the device. In a robbery spree that ended at The Domain...