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Grand jury charges ex-GOP candidate with election interference in shootings on lawmakers’ homes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A failed political candidate has been indicted on federal charges including election interference in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque takes aim at former Republican candidate Solomon Peña and two alleged accomplices with additional conspiracy and weapons-related charges in connection with the shootings in December 2022 and January of this year on the homes of four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker.The attacks came amid a surge of threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials across the country after former President Donald Trump and his allies spread false claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez highlighted that the shootings targeted the homes of two count...

Amputation frees woman from collapsed Iowa building debris

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — One moment Lexus Berry and her wife were rushing toward the door of their fourth-floor apartment, and the next, Quanishia “Peach” Berry was gone.Their apartment had disappeared into a heap of bricks and steel far below, leaving Lexis Berry running by herself to a stairwell in the teetering building, panicked that she might never see her wife again.“The moment that we hit the door, it started to shake and rattle and literally — it all just happened in the blink of a second – the floors caved in, like collapsed,” Lexus Berry said Wednesday. “So as the floors were falling, and she was falling four stories down, there were still two stories above her falling and two stories falling above me. It was all crumbling.”The six-story building in downtown Davenport partially collapsed just before 5 p.m. Sunday, but it took hours before rescuers found Peach Berry trapped in the rubble and then determined one of her legs would need to be amputated to pull her free. Lexus Be...

Judge dismisses criminal charges against California energy company in 2020 fatal wildfire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A California judge on Wednesday dismissed all charges against Pacific Gas & Electric in connection to a 2020 fatal wildfire sparked by its equipment that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed four people, including an 8-year-old.The utility also reached a $50 million settlement agreement with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, officials from both announced in separate statements. The wind-whipped blaze began on Sept. 27, 2020, and raged through rugged terrain and small communities west of Redding, killing four people, burning about 200 homes and blackening about 87 square miles (225 square kilometers) of land in Shasta and Tehama counties.In 2021, state fire investigators concluded the fire was sparked by a gray pine tree that fell onto a PG&E distribution line. Shasta and Tehama counties sued the utility, alleging negligence. They said PG&E failed to remove the tree even though it had been marked for removal two years earlier. Th...

UN chief implicitly criticizes Cambodia’s upcoming elections after top opposition party ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres implicitly criticized Cambodia’s upcoming elections Wednesday for failing to be inclusive, after the top opposition party was not allowed to register. The Candlelight Party would have been the sole credible challenger to the governing Cambodian People’s Party in the July elections, but the country’s Constitutional Council last week refused to overturn a ban on its registration in a decision that cannot be appealed.“The secretary-general reiterates that inclusive elections, in which a plurality of views and voter choices is represented, are important to engender confidence in the electoral process and underpin the ability of Cambodia’s people to exercise their democratic rights,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.“As (Guterres) said during his visit to Cambodia last year, it is vital that civic space be open, for human rights defenders to be protected, and for civil society to play a wider role in socie...

3 in critical condition after crash, 2 possibly shot, in Garfield Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Three people are in critical condition after a crash and a possible shooting Wednesday evening in Garfield Park.The crash happened near North Homan Avenue and West Fulton Boulevard. Teen riding bike critically injured after driver hits him in Batavia According to the Chicago Fire Department, two people were taken to Stroger Hospital and one person was taken to Mt. Sinani Hospital. They are all believed to be men, the fire department said. It appears two of them were shot.Video from Skycam 9 shows a large tree and street sign that appears to have been knocked over during the crash. Additional details haven't been released yet.

Amazon charged with privacy violations over Alexa and Ring cameras: FTC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon will pay more than $30 million to settle alleged privacy violations involving its voice assistant Alexa and its doorbell camera Ring.The Federal Trade Commission voted to file charges in two separate cases Wednesday that could also force the company to delete certain data collected by its popular internet-connected devices.In the Alexa case, the FTC said Amazon had deceived users of the voice assistance service for years. It retained children’s recordings indefinitely unless a parent requested the information be deleted, the agency said, and even when it deleted those recordings, Amazon often kept the transcripts.The FTC ordered the company to delete inactive child accounts as well as certain voice information and geolocation data. Check your phone: Popular Android app reportedly started spying on users, making recordings In imposing a $25 million fine, the agency said Amazon had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and FTC Consumer Protec...

May review: Twins conclude month leading AL Central, pitching well and not hitting much

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

HOUSTON — The Twins have reached the one-third mark of their season in first place in the American League Central, but far from playing their best baseball. They’re hovering around .500 for the season and were under that mark in the month of May.No other team in the division is above .500, which has helped the Twins maintain their hold on first place since the very beginning of the season.“I would say we’re playing fine, but I don’t think we’ve hit our stride yet as a group,” manager Rocco Baldelli said over the weekend.As the calendar flips to June, here are five Twins observations from the month of May:Lineup hasn’t produced as expectedThe Twins played a lot of similar-looking games in May, a fact that Baldelli pointed out at one point during the month. What’d that look like?There were a lot of games where the starting staff, which has continued to be one of the best in the majors, certainly threw well enough to keep the Twins in the game, but Twins batters were unable to co...

St. Paul mayor, lawmakers tout big wins for Capital City — and a possible sales tax for roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

Elected officials from in and around St. Paul gathered Wednesday to celebrate a legislative session that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars for a wide range of local projects.St. Paul will get $25 million to spend the next three years replacing the deteriorating Third Street Bridge that connects downtown’s Kellogg Boulevard to the East Side.Two of the city’s homeless service centers — Listening House and Ain Dah Yung — will receive nearly $2 million each for needed improvements.And the Walker West Music Academy on Selby Avenue can expect $4 million for a new facility, while other community spaces, such as a Latino economic development center, the Mississippi River Learning Center, Playwrights Center and North End Community Center will benefit, too, from the priciest and arguably most productive state legislative session in history.“We are giving this city an extreme makeover,” said Mayor Melvin Carter, flanked by the city’s elected st...

Judge orders year in jail/probation for St. Paul man convicted in fatal stabbing over parking spot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

A St. Paul man found guilty of fatally stabbing a man during a parking dispute on the East Side in 2021 will not serve time in prison.Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro on Wednesday gave Brian Harry Kjellberg a year in the county workhouse and 10 years of probation for killing 27-year-old Arnell Jermel “AJ” Stewart with a single stab to his chest on Dec. 2, 2021.Brian Harry Kjellberg (Courtesy of Ramsey County sheriff’s office)Castro initially sentenced Kjellberg, 51, to a 12½-year prison term, which was the presumptive sentence, but then stayed the time on the condition that he complete terms of his probation, which includes 150 hours of community service in years 2 through 4.Castro said the “compelling reasons” for the dispositional departure from the presumptive sentencing guidelines include: Kjellberg is particularly amenable to probation; the risk assessment did not identify any areas of concern; and no prior criminal history. He also noted how Kjellberg, a Navy...

Grief, tears and gratitude as victims' families react to limo crash sentencing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:34 GMT

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The operator of the limousine company involved in the fatal 2018 crash in Schoharie was sentenced in Schoharie County Court Wednesday. The family members impacted by the tragic loss had a chance to address the court ahead of sentencing.The outcome was what the families wanted, but it was still a difficult day in the courtroom. Tears were shed; there was anger directed right at the defendant; but also gratitude for the judge who made the day possible. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It's been a long road for the families to get to sentencing day. Family members shared their grief in front of Nauman Hussain, the man who will serve time in prison for causing the crash that claimed 20 souls, loved ones the people in the courtroom will never see again.As they each asked the judge to hand down the maximum possible sentence, they addressed the defendant directly. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Hussain was ...