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North Carolina Republicans enact voting, election boards changes over Democratic governor’s vetoes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans enacted vote-count restrictions and weakened the governor’s ability to oversee elections and other state regulatory bodies on Tuesday by overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes. Lawsuits attempting to block the new laws are likely as the 2024 elections approach.In a series of votes, the narrow GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate overturned five Cooper vetoes, two of which address elections and voting in the ninth-largest state — a likely presidential battleground where statewide races usually are very close. One law would eliminate the governor’s power to appoint the State Board of Elections and give it to legislative leaders, while the other would end a three-day grace period to receive and count absentee ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. These laws — years in the making after previous Cooper’s vetoes or lawsuits blocked legislation with similar provisions — advanced this ye...

Citing Trump’s online attacks, US prosecutors seek protections for potential jurors in election case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday urged the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington to take steps to protect the identity of prospective jurors, citing the former president’s “continued use of social media as a weapon of intimidation in court proceedings.” Special counsel Jack Smith’s team wants U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a written questionnaire to help the two sides choose potential jurors in the case accusing the former Republican president of illegally plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But it also would give lawyers early access to the identities of possible jurors. Prosecutors said in court papers they are concerned about what Trump might do with research on possible jurors, pointing to his recent disparagement of the clerk of the New York judge overseeing Trump’s civil business fraud trial that caused the judge to issue a limited gag order. Trump in that case posted a photo of...

Los Angeles deputies were taken to a hospital after fire broke out during training

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Multiple Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after a fire during a “training incident” north of Los Angeles, authorities said.The extent of the deputies’ injuries weren’t immediately known, said sheriff’s department spokesperson Nicole Nishida. It also was not known yet what caused the fire, which fire fighters were still battling in Castaic, a community roughly 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.“We’re still trying to determine that. We know for sure there was a fire,” Nishida said.The exact number of people injured was also unclear. Fire department officials said four deputies were taken to the hospital before firefighters were on the scene, while Nishida initially said at least two deputies were transported to the hospital. Her department later said in a statement that “several deputies” were injured. The fire happened at about 9:30 a.m. at a training facility located on a sprawlin...

Police search for killer of retired college dean who was shot on trail near university campus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

CASTLETON, Vt. (AP) — Five days after a retired college dean was shot and killed on a recreation trail near a Vermont University campus, students returned to classes on Tuesday, some on edge, a day after police urged residents to remain vigilant, lock doors and to report any tips that might help them identify and find the killer. Honoree Fleming, a retired dean and professor, was found shot to death on Thursday afternoon on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail about a mile (1.61 kilometers) south of the Castleton campus of Vermont State University. The shooting happened during the school’s week-long fall break. The university reopened Monday but students were excused from classes. “I recommend to the public to be vigilant, have some awareness,” Maj. Dan Trudeau, commander of the Vermont State Police’s criminal division, said Monday. “If you’re out be with a friend because we don’t really know yet if the community is in any further danger. We don’t know ...

White House condemns a violent crash at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The White House on Tuesday condemned a violent crash at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco where a man rammed a car into the lobby, creating a chaotic scene that ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at the hospital.“We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.U.S. government officials have been in contact with Chinese foreign ministry officials in the aftermath of the incident Monday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House official added that investigators believe the driver was “acting with malign intent.”As of Tuesday morning, police had shared no additional details on the identity of the driver or how the incident unfolded. San Francisco police said Monday they didn’t know why the unidentified driver smashed t...

Ontario securities regulator exploring artificial intelligence use in capital markets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

TORONTO — Ontario’s securities regulator says it is evaluating the potential role it can play in overseeing and guiding responsible adoption of artificial intelligence to protect investors and the integrity of capital markets.The Ontario Securities Commission’s report released Tuesday says use of AI in capital markets is primarily focused on improving the efficiency and accuracy of operations, trade surveillance and detection of market manipulation, and supporting advisory and customer service.It says AI can improve the ability to gather information and detect patterns, or anomalies from large volumes of data by automating processes normally handled manually — leading to better market forecasting and hedging.Large firms are also currently using AI to provide automated customer support and help for client-facing advisers, but the report says its use for trading, asset allocation and risk management are so far limited.The regular warns of major challenges for AI adoption i...

Oklahoma judge dismisses case of man who spent 30 years in prison for Ada rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday exonerated a man who spent 30 years in prison for a 1987 rape and burglary, after post-conviction DNA testing from a rape kit showed he did not commit the crime.Pontotoc County District Judge Steven Kessinger issued a final order that vacates Perry Lott’s conviction and permanently dismisses the case. “I have never lost hope that this day would come,” Lott, 61, said in a statement. “I had faith that the truth would prevail, even after 35 long years.“I can finally shut this door and move on with my life.”Lott was released from prison in 2018 after the DNA results first came to light, but only after agreeing to a deal with former District Attorney Paul Smith to modify his sentence. The agreement allowed Lott to leave prison and remain free while his motion to vacate was litigated. At the time, Smith said the DNA evidence did not exclude Lott as a suspect.But earlier this year, the Innocence Project, which helped to free Lot...

Utah sues TikTok, alleging it lures children into addictive, destructive social media habits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

Utah became the latest state Tuesday to file a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the company is “baiting” children into addictive and unhealthy social media habits.TikTok lures children into hours of social media use, misrepresents the app’s safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, Utah claims in the lawsuit.“We will not stand by while these companies fail to take adequate, meaningful action to protect our children. We will prevail in holding social media companies accountable by any means necessary,” Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Salt Lake City.Arkansas and Indiana have filed similar lawsuits while the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide whether state attempts to regulate social media platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok violate the Constitution.Public health concerns are cited in the Utah lawsuit. Research has shown that children who spend m...

Mateo Askaripour’s ‘This Great Hemisphere’ is a novel about power set 500 years from now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mateo Askaripour’s follow-up to his acclaimed debut novel “Black Buck” is a look into the distant future. Dutton, a Penguin Random House imprint, announced Tuesday that Askaripour’s “This Great Hemisphere” is scheduled for release next summer. The novel is set 500 years from now and tells of a society in which some people are born invisible and consigned to second-class citizenship. One invisible person, Sweetmint, embarks on a quest to find her missing brother. ”’This Great Hemisphere’ is a novel about the nature of power, the lengths people will go to in order to gain and maintain it, as well as the almost biological compulsion we all possess to protect those we love,” Askaripour said in a statement. “It is a call to arms for the unseen, a rallying cry for those who are tired of being ignored and forgotten. And, of course, it’s a hell of an adventure.” Askaripour’s “Black Buck,” released in 2021, was a widely pr...

Chicago suburb ranked safest in US for trick-or-treating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Naperville is the safest city in the nation for trick-or-treating, according to a new study. ChamberofCommerce.org analyzed key safety metrics across 300 cities, including pedestrian fatalities, violent crime, property crime, number of registered sex offenders, and number of law enforcement employees.SEE ALSO: Tunnel of Terror: Haunted car wash returning to IllinoisHighlights for Naperville include:Low number of registered sex offenders: 2.1 per 10,000Violent crime incidents: 3.6 per 10,000Property crime incidents: 47.4 per 10,000Average annual pedestrian fatalities: 1.67 (or 0.11 per 10,000)Law enforcement employees: 16.8 per 10,000Rounding out the top 5 are Gilbert, Arizona (No. 2); Frisco, Texas (No. 3); Sugar Land, Texas (No. 4) and Cary, North Carolina (No. 5).   SEE ALSO: See the Haunted Houses in the Chicago area in 2023Naperville is Illinois' third-largest city, with nearly 150,000 residents. The complete study can be accessed here.WGN’s Larry Hawley recen...