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Puerto Rico, USVI to receive $108M to upgrade water systems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive a total of nearly $108 million to improve drinking water infrastructure across the U.S. territories.Puerto Rico is slated to get $62 million and the U.S. Virgin Islands nearly $46 million.The money is part of a push by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to improve drinking water systems and remove lead pipes. Federal officials said Congress appropriated an additional $6 billion for water projects in U.S. states and territories as part of the $550 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed in November 2021.Officials said the money will target disadvantaged communities. Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million people,d has a 46% poverty rate. The U.S. Virgin Islands, a three-island territory of 87,000 people, has a poverty rate of nearly 20%. The Associated Press

At a glance: The three hush money cases in Trump indictment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

The criminal charges that Donald Trump is now facing in New York stem from three separate instances in which the former president and his associates are accused of making hush money payments during his 2016 campaign: to two women to suppress information about extramarital sexual encounters they said they had with years earlier, and to a onetime Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he alleged Trump had out of of wedlock. Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He surrendered earlier Tuesday in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to all charges. A look at the three cases cited by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who outlined the charges:TRUMP TOWER DOORMANBragg first listed the incident involving a former Trump Tower doorman who was paid $30,000 after he claimed he had information about a child who Trump had out of wedlock. That doorman, Dino Sajudin, received the payment from the parent company of the National Enquire...

Former pro wrestler accused of transphobic comments at event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

CANTON, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia school board member, who is also a retired professional wrestler, is accused of verbally harassing a transgender woman in the industry at a Los Angeles fan event.Robert Rechsteiner, known as Rick Steiner, was banned Saturday from WrestleCon — a three-day event — after allegedly making transphobic comments to trans wrestler Gisele Shaw, news outlets reported.Shaw claims Steiner called her a “piece of trash and filth” as she was preparing to sign autographs for fans.“I was shocked and could not believe that this was even happening,” Shaw said in a Twitter post. “To have someone saying those comments who a lot of people look up to and consider their hero was quite shocking and disheartening.”Steiner, 62, is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a seven- time World Tag Team Champion and two-time winner of the Tag Team Championship under World Wrestling Entertainment.Since 2006, Steiner has served on the Cherokee County Boa...

Kansas OKs bill that penalizes doctors for some abortions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Doctors accused of not providing enough care to infants delivered alive during certain kinds of abortion procedures in Kansas could face lawsuits and criminal charges under a bill that won final approval Tuesday in the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature. The legislation faces an uncertain fate in a legal and political climate that’s made Kansas an outlier on abortion policy among states with GOP-led legislatures. The bill applies not only to “botched” or “unsuccessful” abortions but also when doctors induce labor to deliver a fetus that is expected to die within minutes or even seconds outside the womb, which often occurs because of a severe medical issue. The Kansas House voted 86-36 to approve a proposed “born-alive infants protection” law similar to a proposed law that Montana voters rejected in November. The Senate approved the measure last week and it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed such a bill in 2019.The Senate voted...

Coroner to hold public inquests into deadly Montreal fire, police killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

Quebec’s chief coroner has accepted a request by the province’s public security minister to hold public inquests into the killing of a provincial police officer and a fire in Old Montreal that left seven people dead.Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said Tuesday he hoped the public hearings would lead to recommendations to help prevent similar deaths in the future and provide answers to Quebecers about the two high-profile fatal cases. Provincial police Sgt. Maureen Breau was stabbed to death March 27 while attempting to make an arrest in Louiseville, Que. The man accused of killing her — who was shot dead by police — had a history of mental health issues and had been found not criminally responsible at least five times for past offences.And on March 16, seven people died in a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that housed illegal Airbnb rentals. The father of one of the victims has said his daughter told 911 operators as the fire spread through the buil...

Pet dog infected with avian flu but risk to public is low, federal government says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

OTTAWA — A pet dog has been infected with H5N1 avian flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Tuesday. The dog in Oshawa, Ont., was infected after chewing on a wild goose and developed symptoms and died.“It is the only case of its kind in Canada,” the agency said in a news release.A necropsy completed on Monday showed the dog’s respiratory system was affected. “Based on the current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human contracting avian influenza from a domestic pet is minor,” the agency said.  There have been large outbreaks of H5N1 flu among birds both globally and within Canada. The CFIA has reported intermittent detections of the virus among some wild mammals, including foxes, mink, raccoons, skunks, seals, dolphins and black bears.  There have been no cases of humans being infected with the virus in Canada. There was one “travel-related̶...

Trump’s day in court as criminal defendant: What to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in history, a former U.S. president has appeared in court as a criminal defendant.Donald Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday after being indicted by a New York grand jury on charges related to a hush-money scheme at the height of the 2016 presidential election.The former president and 2024 presidential candidate pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in a Manhattan courtroom.Here’s what to know about Trump’s day in court:HUSH-MONEY SCHEME RELATED TO 2016 ELECTIONProsecutors unsealed the indictment against the former president Tuesday, giving Trump, his lawyers and the world their first opportunity to see them. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Prosecutors said Trump conspired to undermine the 2016 presidential election by trying to suppress information that could harm his candidacy with a series of hush money payments. The payments were made to two women — including a porn actor — who claimed...

Former Kansas researcher appeals remaining conviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former researcher, who was accused of hiding work he did in China while employed at the University of Kansas, has asked a federal judge to reverse a conviction for making a false statement on an employee form.Feng “Franklin” Tao was convicted in April 2022 of three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson threw out the wire fraud convictions in September, but let the false statement conviction stand. Tao was sentenced to time served.In a motion filed Monday, Tao’s attorneys argued his remaining conviction also should be reversed, or go to trial again. Tao was accused of not properly filling out an institutional responsibilities form for the University of Kansas, by not disclosing that he was traveling to China to work on setting up a laboratory and recruit staff for Fuzhou University.Federal prosecutors argued that Tao’s activities defrauded the university, as well as the U.S. Depa...

Colorado court considers challenge to sex abuse lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — When Angelica Saupe was 20, she went to police to report that she was sexually abused by her high school basketball coach as a teen but said she was wrongly told that it was too late to pursue criminal charges against him. She got another chance to pursue her claim last year after state lawmakers allowed childhood victims of sexual assault to sue their alleged abusers and employers. But now, the Colorado Supreme Court is considering whether the law violates the state constitution. The court’s justices heard arguments Tuesday from a lawyer representing Saupe as well as Aurora Public Schools, which Saupe sued under a law that took effect last year that opened up a three-year window for people to pursue litigation for sexual abuse they suffered as children dating as far back as 1960. The law is part of a national effort to make it easier for victims to seek justice later in life after they have had time to come to terms with what happened.At issue is whether that la...

Hail and wind damage reported in Tuesday's storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:00 GMT

Thunderstorms passed through the Chicago area Tuesday prompting watches and warnings through much of the daytime hours.Wind damage was reported in the city of Chicago. Roofs in the 3600 and 4500 block of Grand Avenue and 1600 block of Wells had significant damage according to the Chicago Fire Department. Downed trees and power lines were also reports.Emergency crews in LaGrange Park and Maywood also responded to reports of tree and light pole damage. No injuries have been reported at this time. Damage reports also included large hail stones that bombarded the area. Tennis ball size (2.75" in diameter) was reported in at Sandwich, Illinois.We got everything from pea to quarter size hail in Highland Park. @WGNTV pic.twitter.com/i394szYIR0— Kelly Davis (@kellykdavis) April 4, 2023Large hail has even hit parts of the city. The Jefferson Park neighborhood was hit with 1.50" diameter hail (ping pong size) just past 2 p.m.  Other large hail reports have included 2.50 inches in ...