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House Republicans ready contempt vote against FBI director Wray over Biden document

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee plans to move forward this week with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer said a more-than-hourlong briefing he received Monday from bureau officials about an unverified law enforcement tip against President Joe Biden does not amount to compliance with a subpoena. FBI officials came to the Capitol on Monday to brief Comer, R-Ky., and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the panel, about a June 2020 document that purportedly relates to Biden and his family. The briefing was conducted privately in a secure space because FBI officials say the “several-page” form contains sensitive information.“The FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee,” Comer told reporters after the briefing. “And we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday.”House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporter...

Memorial for Las Vegas mass shooting takes shape as 5 potential designs revealed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A series of white angel wings rise up from the earth bathed in a warm glow of light, their sweeping forms creating a long covered pathway surrounded by trees in a possible centerpiece for the memorial to modern America’s deadliest mass shooting.It’s one of five potential designs unveiled Monday for a permanent monument on the Las Vegas Strip where 58 people were shot and killed and hundreds more injured at a country music festival on Oct. 1, 2017. Two survivors later died from their gunshot wounds.The memorial honoring victims, survivors and first responders will be built at the site of the massacre. Renderings of each design are on display through September at the Clark County government center in downtown Las Vegas, marking a major step in an arduous planning process that began more than three years ago and had been stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.Survivors Sue Ann Cornwell, Alicia Mierke and Sue Nelson were among the gallery’s first visitors Monday m...

3 killed in Iowa building collapse; lawsuits say owner didn’t warn residents of danger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The bodies of three Iowa men have been removed from the site of a collapsed six-story apartment building about a week after part of the century-old structure tumbled to the ground, the city of Davenport’s police chief announced Monday. “We don’t have any other information at this time that there are any additional people missing,” Chief Jeff Bladel said.Meanwhile, residents of the building have started filing lawsuits. One, filed Monday by Dayna Feuerbach, is accusing the city and the building’s current and former owners of knowing of the deteriorating conditions and failing to warn residents of the risk. A second action by Mildred Harrington against the building’s owner alone alleges the same.Feuerbach’s lawsuit alleges multiple counts of negligence, and both actions seek unspecified damages. “The city had warning after warning,” attorney Jeffrey Goodman, who represents Feuerbach, told The Associated Press. He called it a common trend ...

Breonna Taylor supporters launch campaign against GOP gubernatorial nominee in Kentucky

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Breonna Taylor’s mother endorsed a grassroots campaign Monday aimed at defeating Republican Daniel Cameron’s bid for Kentucky governor, reviving anger over a criminal investigation he led that yielded no charges against any officers for the fatal shooting of the Black woman during a police raid.Tamika Palmer plunged into the political fray on what would have been her daughter’s 30th birthday. Breonna Taylors death in 2020 spurred nationwide racial justice protests alongside the killing of George Floyd. Palmer and other activists announced a campaign to bolster voter registration and turnout against Cameron’s bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in November.Taylor’s family and scores of protesters have long blamed Cameron for a lack of criminal charges against the officers for Taylor’s death on March 13, 2020. Police opened fire into Taylor’s Louisville apartment after her boyfriend fired a shot at them from a hallway, woundi...

Quebec premier worries about western Quebec fires with no rain expected for 5 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec Premier François Legault says his government is looking internationally for support as it struggles to battle more than 160 forest fires.With more than 480 wilderness firefighters on the ground, Quebec can fight around 30 fires, Legault told reporters Monday, adding that normally firefighters would come from other provinces to help.“When I talk to the premiers of other provinces, they have their hands full,” Legault told a briefing in Quebec City.He said no lives have been lost in the fires, but firefighters were forced to pull back from the hamlet of Clova, Que., around 325 kilometres northwest of Montreal.“Unfortunately, we lost control,” Legault said. “We are going to be obliged to let Clova burn.” Authorities said the community’s 36 residents have been evacuated.Later in the day, Quebec’s wildfire prevention agency, SOPFEU, said the intensity of the fire in the area had exceeded the capacity of water bombers, but ...

One year after their killing, loved ones pay tribute to duo slain in Amazon rainforest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A year after the killing of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon rainforest, friends, colleagues and family members gathered Monday in several Brazilian cities to honor their memory and pledge to carry forward their work.Dozens of people showed up at demonstrations in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, capital Brasilia and Bahia state’s Salvador. Gatherings also took place in London and Atalaia do Norte, a small Amazon town that is the launching-off point for the remote, sprawling Javari Valley Indigenous territory. Just outside that territory, the men were brutally killed.Phillips had been conducting research for his book, “How to Save the Amazon: Ask the People Who Know,” which was years in the making. In 2021, he secured a yearlong fellowship with the Alicia Patterson Foundation to write it and, by the time of his death, had completed nearly half.A main line of police investigation points to an international network...

Norfolk Southern is 1st railroad to give all workers sick time as others negotiate with unions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern became the first major North American freight railroad with deals to provide paid sick time to all of its workers Monday, but the other railroads are making progress, with nearly 65% of all rail workers securing this basic benefit since the start of the year.All of the major freight railroads have said they are committed to resolving this key issue that nearly led to a strike in last year’s bitter contract talks. But most of those railroads — which include CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City — are still negotiating with a number of their unions.Also Monday, Union Pacific announced a deal that will provide paid sick leave to about 5,600 engineers in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union that gives that railroad agreements with 12 of its 13 unions.Most of the sick time deals, including the one Norfolk Southern announced for yardmasters Monday, provide four days of paid sick time and...

Ex-guard at NYC federal building indicted in sex assault of asylum seeker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An asylum seeker was sexually assaulted by an armed guard at a federal building in New York City where the FBI has its offices, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.Jimmy Solano-Arias, 42, of the Bronx, was charged in Manhattan federal court with deprivation of rights under color of law involving kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse. The charge carries a potential penalty of maximum sentence of life in prison. He lost his job after his arrest on May 5, a day after the attack is alleged to have occurred. He is free on bail.According to a criminal complaint signed by an FBI agent, Solano-Arias admitted in a video recorded interview with federal agents that the asylum seeker performed oral sex but claimed it was consensual.Michael J. Driscoll, head of New York’s FBI office, said in a release that the asylum seeker had come to 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan on May 4 to submit an asylum application.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Solano-Arias, who wa...

CNN chief apologizes to employees for distracting from work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht, the embattled chief executive of CNN, apologized to network employees on Monday for distracting from their work and promised to “fight like hell” to earn their trust amid criticism of his year at the helm.Licht’s tenure hit a low point last week with publication of a lengthy, damaging profile of him in Atlantic magazine and the appointment of a new executive from parent company Warner Bros. Discovery to help manage CNN.Licht said on an editorial conference call that he was sorry that his role in the news cycle overshadowed the work of CNN’s journalists, according to a transcript of the call. He described it as a humbling experience.Licht said he would work to win their trust, “because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, fighting to ensure CNN remains the world’s most trusted name in news.”“CNN is not about me,” he said. “I should not be in the news.”A CNN spokesperson had no further comment on Monday.Licht replaced a popul...

Chicago police issue response to weekend shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

Over the weekend, 46 people were shot, and at least nine killed across the city.Among the incidents was a shooting early Sunday morning, when gunfire erupted in the 4800 block of West Iowa. Nearly 100 people were gathered for a celebration of life when, according to police, an argument broke out around 1 a.m. and unknown offenders began firing shots. 25-year-old Terry’a Adams was killed and six others wounded. Woman killed, 6 injured in shooting at memorial gathering on West Side The Chicago Police Department held a news conference Monday asking the public's help for information.The CPD’s own numbers show that while murders are down slightly so far this year compared to last and in 2021, other crime is up. Robberies are up 16 percent from the same time last year and up 37 percent from 2021. Related: Mayor Johnson promises “more sophisticated, sharper response” after weekend violence in Chicago By far the biggest jump is in vehicle thefts. More than doubling from 2022 and triplin...