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Judge gives organizers trying to stop ‘Cop City’ a deadline extension for signature campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday significantly extended the deadline for Atlanta organizers who have been trying to gather more than 70,000 signatures to force a vote on the construction of a police and firefighter training center that critics call “ Cop City.”U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen ruled that the city had imposed an unlawful requirement that those collecting signatures have to be residents of Atlanta. A group of people who live in DeKalb County just outside the city had sued — saying they should be allowed to join in the canvassing effort and noting that the planned site for the training center itself is in unincorporated DeKalb County, outside the city limits.“Requiring signature gatherers to be residents of the city imposes a severe burden on core political speech and does little to protect the city’s interest in self-governance,” Cohen wrote, adding: “The city has offered no specifics as to why permitting nonresident plaintiffs to gather signatures … will...

Pat Carney, former MP, senator, remembered as kind, ‘wise leader’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

VANCOUVER — Pat Carney is being remembered as a life force and a woman who got things done. The former member of Parliament, senator and trailblazer died Tuesday at the age of 88. Former Conservative MP John Reynolds says Carney was someone who was able to work with people to accomplish many goals both in Parliament and the Senate. He says when someone had a problem that needed to be fixed, he suggested they go to Carney. Senator Donna Dasko says in a tweet that Carney was a firm advocate of women’s equality and one of the most forceful women she has ever met. Former Liberal MP Jody Wilson-Raybould says on Twitter that she was saddened to hear of Carney’s death, calling her a “kind, generous and wise leader.” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she’s heartbroken over the loss of the “extraordinary woman,” mentor, friend, feminist, and great Canadian. “Such an honour to know her. I will miss her so very much.”This report by The ...

Former British rapper Abdel Bary, accused of heading jihadist cell, is found dead in Spanish prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A former British rap artist and alleged jihadist has died in custody in Spain, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday, the ministry said. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.Abdel Bary was arrested in 2020, accused of heading a jihadist terror cell. He was facing up to 9 years in prison. A trial was set for sentencing July 14 and he was awaiting verdict.Abdel Bary, 32, left London in 2013 to join an Al Qaeda faction and later ISIS militias in Syria. He made a name for himself on social media sites by showing himself clutching the severed head of one of his alleged victims.Before joining the Jihad, Abdel Bary performed as rapper lyricist under the name Jinn.He was the son of an Egyptian operative of al-Qaeda who was convicted for events related to the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people. Abdel Bary stopped making music not long after his father’s extradition to ...

Republican-led committee calls off vote to hold Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg in contempt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee called off a vote Thursday on a recommendation that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg be held in contempt of Congress for failing to fully supply documents related to an investigation into supposed censorship by tech companies of conservatives.Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican and chair of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted shortly before the committee was to meet that, “Based on Facebook’s newfound commitment to fully cooperate with the Committee’s investigation, the Committee has decided to hold contempt in abeyance. For now.”Jordan added that contempt is still on the table and would be used if “Facebook fails to cooperate in FULL.”If the committee had moved forward, it would have been up to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to hold a full House vote on the contempt resolution as early as this fall, after the August recess.If the House were to hold Zuckerberg in contempt, the Justice Department would decide whether to prosecute him.Andy Stone...

Upstate New York Catholic diocese announces $100 million settlement for sexual abuse victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse on Thursday announced a $100 million settlement with people who say they were sexual abuse victims as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.Catholic dioceses around the state are dealing with a surge of lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give people who say they were victims of childhood sexual abuse the ability to pursue decades-old allegations.“I can tell you as shocking as the settlement amount may seem to leaders of our own parishes and other Catholic entities, more appalling and heart-rending to me is the pain and mistreatment experienced by the survivors of child and adult sexual abuse at the hands of those they thought they could trust,” Bishop Douglas Lucia wrote in an open letter Thursday.The Syracuse diocese, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, said 387 people have filed claims, though the head of a committee of unsecured creditors said there were mo...

Steve McMichael takes a step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

CANTON, Ohio — One of the most popular and charismatic players in the history of the Chicago Bears is another step closer to Canton. On Thursday afternoon, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Steve McMichael is one of 12 players in the Seniors category that have moved on to the next round of voting for the Class of 2024. Players in this category must have played their last game no later than the 1988 season.The former defensive tackle had been one of 31 semifinalists for that honor in a vote by the Seniors Committee on July 12. Now that same group will meet on August 22 to decide the three players that will be in final consideration for the Class of 2024.McMichael is making his push for the Hall of Fame as he continues his battle with ALS, which he was diagnosed with in January 2021. WGN News Now featured how he's dealing with his daily battle against the disease in July and the push by his wife, Misty, former teammates, and professional wrestlers who are drumming up suppor...

Nassar survivors sue Michigan State, saying it made 'secret decisions' about releasing documents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Women who were sexually assaulted by former Michigan State University sports doctor Larry Nassar filed a lawsuit Thursday saying school officials made “secret decisions” about releasing documents in the case.The group of survivors and parents says the lawsuit seeks accountability — not money — from the university. They say the school refused to give the state attorney general’s office more than 6,000 documents for an investigation into how Nassar was allowed to get away with his behavior, and later wouldn't turn over emails about the board of trustees' decision-making. The school has said the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison after he admitted to molesting some of the nation’s top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment. He was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women and girls. Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar stabbed multiple times at Florida federa...

Stare into the sun — safely, with the help of Adler Planetarium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Experts at Chicago's Adler Planetarium conducted a rare live look at the sun on Thursday. The team went live on YouTube at noon as part of a Sky Observers Hangout.You can watch it on YouTube here."With the help of solar viewing telescopes, our astronomy educators will take you on a tour of our favorite star, showcasing some of its stellar features we can’t normally see," the said in an email announcing the live stream.

Retired Illinois National Guardsman arrested for alleged role in Jan. 6 riot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

A retired Illinois Army national guardsman has been arrested on charges of allegedly breaching the U.S. Capitol and assaulting a police officer on Jan. 6, 2021.Joseph Bierbrodt, 54, of Sheridan faces eight counts, including assaulting a federal officer and obstructing law enforcement. Bierbrodt's brother, William, was also charged. Retired CFD lieutenant charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot According to prosecutors, the brothers broke through a Capitol window and unlatched a door from the outside to gain entry inside the Senate Wing. Still images frm surviellance footage shows the Bierbrodt brothers, along with other rioters, encountering US Capitol police officer.Prosecutors allege that Joseph Bierbrodt slammed the police officer into a wall before moving further down the Senate Wing of the Capitol. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe brothers reportedly fled the Capitol once reinforcement officers deployed pepper spray. Authorities were able to identfy Joseph Bierbrodt by his...

Teen who stormed Capitol on Jan. 6, sat in Pence chair sentenced to prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:53 GMT

A Georgia man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, assaulted an officer and sat in former Vice President Mike Pence’s chair was sentenced Wednesday to one year in prison. Bruno Joseph Cua, who was 18 at the time of the riot, was sentenced to a year and a day followed by three years of supervised release, much lower than the federal prosecution's request of more than 4.5 years, according to a sentencing memo filed in May. The now 21-year-old was found guilty of two felony charges earlier this year, including obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, interfering with, intimidating, opposing or impeding officers. In May, federal prosecutors said Cua was the sixth youngest person to be charged in the Capitol attack, according to the sentencing memo.Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia argued while he is one of the youngest to be charged, Cua was “not a child” on Jan. 6, noting, “Americans who reach the...