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Biden dispatching Sullivan to Tokyo for talks with Japan, Philippines, South Korea officials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Tokyo this week for talks with his counterparts from Japan, Philippines and South Korea.Sullivan will also take part in “the first-ever trilateral meeting of the Japanese, Philippine, and U.S. national security advisers” while in Japan, the White House National Security Council said in a statement Tuesday. The White House offered scant details about Sullivan’s two-day visit that begins Thursday, saying Sullivan and his counterparts “will discuss ways to deepen collaboration on a number of key regional and global issues.”Sullivan’s visit comes after U.S., Japanese and Philippine coast guard ships staged law enforcement drills in waters near the disputed South China Sea earlier this month. Washington has stepped up efforts to reinforce alliances in Asia amid an increasingly tense rivalry with China.Washington lays no claims to the strategic South China Sea, whe...

Prosecutors accuse weapons expert in Baldwin case of drinking, smoking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of “Rust,” prosecutors are accusing, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used. They leveled the accusations Friday in response to a motion filed last month by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys that seeks to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charge. The prosecutors accused her of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to “finally be held accountable.”Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said Tuesday that the prosecution has mishandled the case.“The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,” Bowles told The Associated Press. “The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.”...

Court exonerates Ontario man convicted of killing toddler decades ago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

A man who was labelled a “baby killer” for nearly three decades says he’s relieved to be exonerated in the 1996 death of his 17-month-old stepson after a conviction that relied on the testimony of a disgraced pathologist.“The justice system has worked for me at last,” Bernard Doyle said in a statement.Doyle, who was found guilty of manslaughter in 1997, said he was dancing with Tyler Cunningham in his arms when he accidentally tripped and fell, dropping his partner’s son on construction tools that were scattered nearby. Tyler died in the hospital soon after.The Ontario Court of Appeal said in a decision published Tuesday it is acquitting Doyle because flawed evidence from then-pathologist Charles Smith convinced the court at the time that Tyler died from a combination of blunt force trauma and shaken baby syndrome, but fresh evidence has discredited those claims.“I am very relieved and grateful for what happened,” Doyle said, adding th...

Nevada GOP governor signs transgender health bills while vetoing another, bucking party trends

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signed two bills related to transgender rights and vetoed another, bucking trends from other Republican governors who have pushed anti-transgender rhetoric and policies throughout the country.The former Clark County Sheriff’s signing of a bill on Monday requiring health insurance companies including Medicaid to cover all gender-affirming surgeries was the third major bill related to transgender health and civil rights to reach his desk.Another bill he signed earlier this month requires the states’ Department of Corrections to adopt mental and medical health standards for transgender and gender-nonconforming people inside the state’s prisons, including cultural competency training for guards.Democratic-controlled Legislatures like Nevada’s have moved several bills protecting transgender health care, civil rights and legal protections including a half dozen states from Oregon to Colorado. But Lombardo’s signature comes...

Los Angeles city councilman charged with 10 counts, including embezzlement and perjury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors charged a Los Angeles city councilman with 10 counts, including embezzlement and perjury, Tuesday in the latest criminal case to upend the scandal-plagued governing board of the nation’s second-largest city.Curren Price, Jr. faces five counts of embezzlement of government funds, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The office did not release the criminal complaint or any details about the charges.Price was charged for having a financial interest in projects that he voted on as a council member, and having the city pay nearly $34,000 in medical benefits for his now-wife while he was still married to another woman, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.Between 2019 and 2021, Price’s wife allegedly received payments totaling more than $150,000 from developers before Price voted to approve projects, according to Gascón’s s...

Costa Rica-US immigration agreement aims to manage region’s flows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica and the U.S. government have agreed to open potential legal pathways to the United States for some of the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants among the 240,000 asylum seekers already awaiting asylum in the Central American country.The agreement – announced by Costa Rica Tuesday and the United States late Monday – appears aimed at reducing the pressure on Costa Rica’s overwhelmed asylum system and heading off asylum seekers who could give up on the slow Costa Rica process and instead set off for the U.S. border.In recent years, Costa Rica with a population of only 5 million has become one of the world’s leading receptors of asylum requests. In part, applying for asylum was a way for migrants to legalize their status and be allowed to seek work.However, a soaring number of applications, largely from migrants fleeing neighboring Nicaragua, created a massive backlog. Last year, Nicaraguans accounted for nine out of 10 applicants.On Tuesday, Public S...

Toronto woman received over $50K in lottery scam that targeted seniors: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

A Toronto woman was arrested and charged in a lengthy lottery scam investigation that allegedly targeted seniors in Alberta and Manitoba over a six-month period.Peel Regional Police concluded the investigation on Monday that determined a woman allegedly received over $50,000 from multiple elderly residents.It’s alleged that the victims in different provinces were instructed to send funds via bank transfers after believing they had won a lottery prize. To claim their winnings, they had to pay a fee.Police said they were ordered to send cash and gift cards via postal service to residential addresses in Mississauga, Ont.On Tuesday, 27-year-old Abigail Aseani Lindsay of Toronto was identified. The woman is charged with defrauding the public of over $5,000 and two counts of possession of property obtained by crime.Police said Lindsay was released on an undertaking and will appear in court on July 31, 2023.

Who will replace Pat Sajak on 'Wheel of Fortune'?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

(WJW) – Who will be the next “Wheel of Fortune” host?Pat Sajak, 76, announced Monday he will soon be leaving "Wheel."“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all,” he wrote on Twitter. Pat Sajak's daughter reacts to his announcement That will end his run after the 2023-24 television season. Sajak has been hosting "Wheel of Fortune" since 1981. Vanna White joined him as co-host in 1982.White made her first comments about Sajak’s departure Tuesday.“When we started 'Wheel of Fortune,' who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later? I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come. Cheers to you, Pat Sajak!” she wrote on Twitter.FILE - Pat Sajak, left, and Vanna White, from "Wheel of Fortune," attend a ceremony honoring Harry Friedman with a star on the Hollywood Wal...

3 hospitalized, 1 critical after head-on collision in Naperville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- One person was transported to a hospital in critical condition after being involved a multiple vehicle accident in Naperville early Tuesday morning.According to the Naperville Police Department, officers responded to the area near Planfield/Naperville Road and Leverenz Road on reports of a multiple vehicle crash with injuries just after 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Suburban man charged after accidentally shooting himself while dreaming Further investigations showed that a 2015 Ford Escape traveling south on Plainfield/Naperville Road left its lane and crossed into northbound traffic before crashing into two vehicles.Multiple other vehicles became involved with the collision or debris left.Three people were transported to local hospitals. One person is in critical condition.No citations have been issued at this time. The investigation is ongoing.Anyone with information regarding the accident is asked to contact the Naperville Police Department at 630-420-8833.

The Beatles are releasing their 'final' record, with the help of AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Artificial intelligence has been used to extract John Lennon's voice from an old demo to create “the last Beatles record,” decades after the band broke up, Paul McCartney said Tuesday.McCartney, 80, told the BBC that the technology was used to separate the Beatles' voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson's 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back." The “new” song is set to be released later this year, he said.Jackson was “able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette and a piano,” McCartney told BBC radio. “He could separate them with AI, he’d tell the machine ‘That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar’.”“So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had that we worked on," he added. “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record as you would do. It gives you some sort of leeway.”McCartney didn't identify the ...