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US urges Russia’s Lavrov to see suffering of Whelan’s sister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.S. brought the sister of an American imprisoned in Russia to the U.N. Security Council on Monday for a session being chaired by the Russian foreign minister, urging him to “look into her eyes and see her suffering.”U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to release Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of espionage. His family and the U.S. government have called the charges baseless. Thomas-Greenfield also urged him to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on March 29 and accused of trying to obtain classified information.She accused Russia of using them as “political bargaining chips” and urged Moscow “to cease this barbaric practice once and for all.”The U.S. ambassador told Lavrov to turn to the visitor’s gallery where Elizabeth Whelan was sitting and “look into her eyes and see her suffering.” “I want ...

Similarities in testimony from Vancouver officers at Myles Gray inquest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

BURNABY, B.C. — Several patterns have emerged after the last few Vancouver police witnesses testified at a coroner’s inquest into the death of Myles Gray in August 2015.The 14 officers who have testified so far have used the same language to describe Gray’s behaviour as police struggled to restrain him, and many told the inquest they were so focused on their own actions, they don’t have clear and complete recollections of what others were doing to restrain the 33-year-old.Gray died shortly after a beating by several officers that left him with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles.At leastfive officers testified they followed a direction from their police union not to make handwritten notes in the hours after Gray’s death.All of them told the inquest they couldn’t recall who the union’s directive came from, although Det. Const. Nick Thompson testified last week that it was passed to him by a superior...

Oklahoma attorney general to recommend clemency for Glossip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s new Attorney General Gentner Drummond plans to ask the state’s Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday to recommend sparing the life of death row inmate Richard Glossip, a highly unusual move for the state’s top prosecutor’s office that typically urges the board to reject clemency.In a letter dated Monday to the five-member board, Drummond wrote that he has serious concerns about the fairness of Glossip’s trial and cited two independent reviews of the case that recommended Glossip be granted a new trial.“I am not aware of an Oklahoma Attorney General ever supporting a clemency application for a death row inmate,” Drummond wrote. “In every previous case that has come before this board, the state has maintained full confidence in the integrity of the conviction. That is simply not the case in this matter due to the material evidence that was not disclosed to the jury.”Drummond previously asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Ap...

Defamation suit produced trove of Tucker Carlson messages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The $787.5 million settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems spared executives and on-air talent from taking the stand in a defamation lawsuit that centered on Fox airing false claims of a stolen election in the weeks after former President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss.The lawsuit still revealed plenty of what Fox personalities had been saying about the bogus election claims, including Tucker Carlson, the network’s top-rated host who was let go Monday. His unexplained departure has turned a spotlight on what he said in depositions, emails and text messages among the thousands of pages Dominion released in the leadup to jury selection in the case.Carlson’s messages lambasted the news division and management, revealed how he felt about Donald Trump and demonstrated his skepticism of the election lies — so much so that Fox attorneys and company founder Rupert Murdoch held him up as part of their defense of the company. The judge who oversaw...

At last, NFL Draft week has arrived for the Bears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

Jacob Infante, Windy City Gridiron's lead NFL Draft analyst, joins "9 Good Minutes" on WGN News Now on April 24.LAKE FOREST — After months of speculation, a major trade of their top pick, and countless mock drafts, the moment has finally arrived for the Bears. This is NFL Draft week as the selections will get underway on Thursday at 7 p.m. central time in Kansas City with general manager Ryan Poles taking to the "war room" at Halas Hall to continue building the team back to respectability.Rounds 2 & 3 will be conducted on Friday starting at 6 p.m., central time, and then the final four start at 11 a.m. on Saturday.While every draft is important, this one takes on special meaning thanks to where the Bears are selecting.They have a draft pick in the Top 10 for the first time since 2018 along with four total picks in the first three rounds. Poles will start with ten selections with a few possibly on the move as he tries to fill a number of holes on the Bears' roster.Which direction...

President Biden expected to announce 2024 reelection campaign as early as Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has been hiding in plain sight all along.The contours of the 2024 campaign that Biden will formally launch with a video as soon as this week will look a lot like his messaging and policy moves from the past few months: Play up accomplishments from his first two years, draw a sharp contrast with Republican policies he deems extreme, and brush off worries about his age.Biden, aides contend, has essentially been campaigning since Republicans took control of the House last year, focused on showing Americans how his administration is implementing massive new infrastructure, technology and climate laws, and portraying Republicans as in the grip of the far right at a time when Washington is nearing a crucial fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.While advisers say Biden’s activities and message in coming months will be largely indistinguishable from what he’s been doing over the last six months, the frame ...

Texas Athletics announces location, more details on new football practice facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new Texas Longhorns football practice facility will begin construction next year, and fans can also expect a big change to Campbell-Williams Field at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium when the Longhorns officially join the Southeastern Conference.Renderings of the new facilities were shared on Twitter through the Texas Athletics account and will include both an indoor and outfield practice field, along with a three-lane sprint track, drill space for both offensive and defensive linemen, a hospitality area and parking. MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersThe facility will replace the Frank Denius Fields and "The Bubble," as the Longhorns' primary practice area. The facility's new location will be where UT's Steve Hicks School of Social Work currently is, along San Jacinto Boulevard and 20th Street adjacent to the Moody Center. According to 247Sports, the practice...

TCEQ moves forward in approval process for east Austin rock-crushing plant, despite pushback

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN)— A state agency is moving forward in the approval process for a rock-crushing plant, despite pushback from neighbors who feel it's way too close to homes.Neighbors are worried about air quality. Some who have lived in the area for generations, said they've been dealing with dusty air for years, just from temporary plants.The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulates permits for the plants."Sometimes, depending on the wind, it can be so thick, you can barely see through it," David Sides, a neighbor said.Christopher Lupone fears the prolonged exposure to dust could really make people sick."It's a big health risk," Lupone said.Sides and Lupone live on opposite sides of where the plant would go—less than a mile or so away from the site.Both are worried what will happen now that a company has applied for a permit to have a permanent rock-crushing plant."There are 250 homes within a mile less than a mile of this," Lupone said. "It's ridiculous to think that they wo...

Texas House passes sweeping school safety legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Eleven months after the Robb Elementary mass shooting, The Texas House of Representatives on Monday initially passed broad, bipartisan legislation intending to make schools safer.House Bill 3 dedicates new funding for districts to improve physical barriers and security technology, requires every district to place an armed guard on every campus, and gives the state more oversight responsibility for safety protocol compliance. It passed the lower chamber 122-19. It now awaits a third and final vote in the House before heading to the Senate.Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows shepherded the bill through with El Paso Democrat Joe Moody after the two led the House investigation of the Robb Elementary mass shooting."The state of Texas must make fundamental changes the way we protect our school communities," Burrows told members on the House floor Monday afternoon. "It is clear that we must not only beef up on campus security staffing, but also establish statewide standar...

MN House set to OK legal cannabis; Senate voting Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:53 GMT

Members of the Minnesota House on Monday night were poised to vote on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.Legalization has passed in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled House before, but there’s a key difference this year: DFL lawmakers took control last November of the Senate, where a vote is now also scheduled for Friday.When Republicans controlled the Senate last year, pot bills didn’t get committee hearings. Now that’s no longer an obstacle, and DFL Gov. Tim Walz said he supports legalization and would sign a bill into law.“I do expect this is the year we get the job done,” said bill sponsor Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids.Stephenson and other legalization advocates say pot prohibition has done more harm than good. They hope the more than 300-page bill will help the state right past wrongs — including drug law enforcement’s disproportionate effects on ethnic minorities.What’s in the bill?The bill slated for a Monday vote in the Hou...