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Map: See where redistricting challenges continue across the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

Three years after the last census noted changes in population and demographics in the United States, several states are still wrangling over the shape of congressional or state legislative districts. Redrawn maps are being challenged on grounds they are racially discriminatory, overly partisan or both.Redistricting litigation is ongoing in several states, including Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, where Democrats are hoping to make gains. Most recently, New York’s highest court gave Democrats a chance to redraw the state’s congressional districts, a major victory as the party tries to win control of the U.S. House next year.Democrats also are expected to gain a seat in Alabama, where districts were revised after federal judges ruled that the original map enacted by Republican state officials had illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents.“The parties are fighting these battles district by district in courtrooms across the country that are aimed at giving Democr...

Bruins notebook: Parker Wotherspoon looking to stick in NHL

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

How long defenseman Parker Wotherspoon remains in Boston will no doubt depend on how he plays in the short-term future. When you’re 26 years old and have a grand total of 17 NHL games like Wotherspoon had heading into Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, you pretty much have to prove yourself on a nightly basis.But in his latest recall from Providence, Wotherspoon showed enough in two tough games games against the Islanders and Rangers to make the B’s decide to keep him on the roster, designating Ian Mitchell to be the one to go back to Providence. And with the expected return to the lineup of Charlie McAvoy, it was rookie Mason Lohrei to be squeezed up to the press box, not Wotherspoon.While Wotherspoon is not exactly huge – he’s 6-foot-1, 195 pounds – coach Jim Montgomery said he brings “snarl” and “jam” that is needed on the B’s, especially on the defense corps with Derek Forbort out. Players like that add to the general good vibe for a team.“O...

MCAS Miramar Marine arrested after pursuit ending in fatal crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A U.S. Marine based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was arrested Monday night after a pursuit following alleged theft from a sporting goods store ended in a crash that killed one and left another seriously injured.Around 10:28 p.m., officers from the Escondido Police Department were alerted to reports of theft involving three suspects — two women and one man — at a Dick's Sporting Goods store on Auto Park Way.When officers arrived on scene, the suspects entered a pickup truck and fled the scene. According to EPD, responding police pursued the suspect vehicle through Escondido onto Washington Avenue, where the driver attempted a high-speed turn onto Fig Street.During the turn, however, the driver, identified as 21-year-old lance corporal John Eugene Brand, lost control of the vehicle, colliding with a nearby retaining wall.Police later identified the truck as one belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps. Stolen goods from the Dick's were allegedly found inside.The t...

Italian fashion influencer apologizes for charity miscommunication, is fined 1 million euros

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

MILAN (AP) — An Italian fashion blogger-turned-businesswoman has apologized after being fined 1 million euros (dollars) by Italy’s anti-trust authority for improperly communicating a charitable contribution tied to sales of a traditional Christmas cake sold with her logo.In an Instagram post, Chiara Ferragni on Monday said she would donate 1 million euros to the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin to give “concreteness” to her apology, but she said she would challenge the fine itself.Ferragni said that she had not given sufficient oversight to the communication surrounding the sales of the Balocco-brand pandoro with her logo, and that she would no longer tie in charity with commercial activities.Ferragni started as a fashion blogger and went on to sell clothing, accessories and makeup under her own brand in addition to doing promotional work as an influencer. She is also on the Tod’s luxury fashion group board of directors.Italy’s anti-trust agency on Friday also fined B...

Thousands rally across Slovakia to protest the government’s plan to amend the penal code

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands returned to the streets of major cities across Slovakia on Tuesday to continue their protests against a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the country’s penal code.The changes proposed by the coalition government include a proposal to abolish the special prosecutors’ office, which handles serious crimes such as graft, organized crime and extremism by mid-January.According to the proposal, those cases will now be taken over by prosecutors in regional offices, which haven’t dealt with such crimes for 20 years.Michal Simecka, head of the liberal Progressive Slovakia, the strongest opposition party, said the changes “would result in amnesty for mafia and corrupt people.”“We have to show them that we’ll defend justice,” Simecka said.Meanwhile in the streets people repeatedly chanted “We’ve had enough of Fico.”The legislation approved by Fico’s government needs parliamentary and presidential approval. The ...

Greece approves new law granting undocumented migrants residence rights, provided they have a job

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved new legislation that will grant tens of thousands of undocumented migrants residence and work permits amid a shortage of unskilled labor.The law drafted by the center-right government links the right to residence with proof of employment. According to the labor ministry, it will affect some 30,000 people, many of them agricultural laborers.The United Nations migration and refugee agencies praised the new law, which applies to migrants who have been living in Greece without residence permits for at least three years up to the end of November. It will not cover later arrivals.Lawmakers in the 300-member parliament voted 262 in favor of the law — despite grumbling from the governing New Democracy’s right wing and with the backing of leftwing opposition parties. New Democracy had threatened to expel any of its lawmakers who didn’t back the measures — making a single exception for a former prim...

Kenneth Law, man accused of selling deadly substances online, due back in court next month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

The case of an Ontario man accused of selling lethal substances to people who later took their own lives is due back in court next month.Kenneth Law briefly appeared in court by remote link Tuesday morning and his case was adjourned to Jan. 30.Last week, police announced 14 new charges of second-degree murder against Law, in addition to his previous 14 charges of counselling and aiding suicide.Police said all 28 charges relate to the same 14 alleged victims, who were between the ages of 16 and 36 and died in communities across Ontario.Law’s lawyer has said his client would be pleading not guilty to all charges.Police have alleged that Law, 58, ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite and other items that can be used for self-harm, shipping them to people in more than 40 countries.They believe more than 1,200 packages were sent out globally, and about 160 were sent in Canada.

Nevada high court upholds sex abuse charges against ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court has denied Nathan Chasing Horse’s request to toss a sprawling indictment that accuses the former “Dances With Wolves” actor of leading a cult, taking underage wives and sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls for decades.The court’s decision means prosecutors can proceed with their 18-count criminal case after months of delayed proceedings while Chasing Horse challenged it. The 47-year-old has been in custody since his arrest in January near the North Las Vegas home he is said to have shared with five wives.Chasing Horse pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include sexual assault of a minor, kidnapping and child abuse.His lawyers argued that the case should be dismissed because, the former actor said, the sexual encounters were consensual. One of his accusers was younger than 16, the age of consent in Nevada, when the alleged abuse began, authorities said.Public defender Kristy Holston also argued that the indictment was ...

Kentucky’s Democratic governor refers to Trump’s anti-immigrant language as dangerous, dehumanizing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant language in his quest to win back the White House is dangerous and dehumanizing, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday, warning that the rhetoric makes it more difficult for Congress to reach a meaningful U.S. border security deal.Beshear — whose resounding reelection last month in solidly Republican Kentucky raised his national profile — said a balanced approach is needed on immigration: one that protects the nation’s borders but recognizes the role legal immigration plays in meeting business employment needs.The governor has largely refrained from openly criticizing Trump, who remains popular in Kentucky, during his tenure and has repeatedly declared “a strong national security requires strong border security.” Beshear also authorized the deployment of Kentucky National Guard soldiers to the nation’s southern border during his first term.But in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Beshear ...

New York City faulted for delays in getting emergency food aid to struggling families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:49 GMT

Thousands of struggling families in New York City are waiting unacceptably long times to receive emergency food and cash aid because of delays by a city agency that violate a 2005 federal court order, advocacy groups said in new legal filings.People who qualify for expedited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or E-SNAP, are supposed to receive them within seven days of applying under the order. If applicants show they have an emergency, the city must give them cash aid for food the same day.The advocacy groups filed a contempt motion Monday in federal court in Manhattan asking a judge to order the city to reduce backlogs and comply with the 2005 mandate. They cited city records showing that from April to September of this year, about 13,700 families had to wait more than a week for E-SNAP benefits. The city’s Human Resources Administration only met the deadline to provide aid about half the time during that period, they said. In October 2022, only 20% of aid a...