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Former Tennessee state senator gets 21-month prison sentence for campaign finance cash scheme

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee state senator on Friday was sentenced to 21 months in prison after he unsuccessfully tried to take back his guilty plea on federal campaign finance charges and initially described the case as a “political witch hunt.”Former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey received his sentence in U.S. District Court in Nashville in the case centering on his attempts to funnel campaign money from his legislative seat toward supporting his failed 2016 congressional bid. He won’t have to begin his prison time until October.“I do think there’s a need to sentence you that sends a message for general deterrence,” U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw said Friday.Crenshaw handed down the punishment after the former Memphis-area lawmaker argued in March that he should be allowed to go back on his November 2022 guilty plea because he entered it with an “unsure heart and a confused mind” due to events in his personal life — his father had terminal pancreatic cancer, t...

Michigan police detained a Black child who was in the ‘wrong place, wrong time,’ department says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A white police officer handcuffed a Black child outside his Michigan home in an “unfortunate case of ‘wrong place, wrong time,’” the Lansing Police Department said Friday. The department posted the explanation on Facebook after cellphone video circulated on social media showing the officer leading the boy — whose hands are cuffed behind his back — through the parking lot of an apartment complex on Thursday. The officer had been searching for a suspect in a string of car thefts when he spotted the child. The “kid” was “bringing out his trash to the Dumpster,” a voice said on the video. A man who identified the boy as his son then approached the officer, who walked the child toward his father before another officer walked him to a patrol vehicle and put him in the rear seat.The father pressed both hands to his own head and continued to speak with the first officer while pacing along a sidewalk. He later walked toward the person recording the video and said:...

3 former GOP operatives to pay $50K for roles in a fake charity tied to E. Palestine derailment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Three men who have worked as Republican political operatives agreed to pay more than $50,000 in restitution and penalties in Ohio for their roles in operating a phony charity that collected cash purportedly to help victims of the East Palestine train derailment.The settlement, announced Thursday by Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, requires Isaiah Wartman and Luke Mahoney of WAMA Strategies to pay more than $22,000 to a local food bank, plus $3,000 in investigative costs and fees. Under the deal, Michael Peppel, co-founder of the fraudulent charity, Ohio Clean Water Fund, must pay a $25,000 civil penalty and agree to a lifetime ban on starting, running or soliciting for any charity in the state, Yost announced. Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reports that Wartman worked as campaign manager and senior adviser to Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia. Mahoney worked as a campaign staffer for Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New Y...

Top lawyer at Fox Corp. to step down after overseeing $787M settlement in Dominion defamation case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox Corp. said Friday that its chief legal officer who oversaw a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation allegations is leaving the company.Viet Dinh, Fox’s chief legal and policy officer, will step down effective Dec. 31, the New York-based company said in a statement. He will remain a “special advisor” to Fox Corp., it added.Fox News, a unit of Fox Corp., agreed to settle the case brought by the voting machine producer in mid-April following weeks of pretrial disclosures that revealed the network had aired false claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election, even though many within the company knew they were not true.The company did not say why Dinh was leaving Fox Corp. Brian Nick, a spokesman for Fox, said the company had no comment beyond the statement.Records released as part of the lawsuit showed Fox aired the claims in part to win back viewers who were fleeing the network after it correctly called hotly contested Arizona ...

Georgia judge needs more time in lawsuit over blocking the state’s ban on gender-affirming care

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge deciding whether to block a Georgia law that bans hormone replacement therapies for transgender people under 18 said Friday there were “significant interests” on both sides and she would need more time to rule.At the end of nearly two full days of hearings in Atlanta, Judge Sarah Geraghty said she heard conflicting testimony from witnesses about the safety and benefits of hormone therapy to treat adolescents with gender dysphoria — the distress felt when someone’s gender expression does not match their gender identity.“I need to process the evidence we’ve heard in the past two days and take some additional time to make sure I get this right,” she said.She did not indicate when she would rule.The law, which was passed this year by the Republican majority in the General Assembly, took effect in July. It allows doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medications, and it allows minors who are already receiving hormone therapy to continue treatment.But ...

Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalls Monster energy drinks with labelling issues

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a national recall of Monster brand energy drinks. The recall affects all flavours of the drink that contain caffeine and that do not have bilingual labelling in English and French.The agency says the products are being recalled due to various non-compliances related to caffeine content and labelling requirements. It advises Canadians not to consume, serve or distribute the recalled products. The agency says recalled products should be thrown out or returned where they were purchased. It says there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 11, 2023.The Canadian Press

3 firefighters injured following Northwest Side house fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- Three firefighters have been hospitalized following a mayday call during a house fire on the Northwest side.According to Chicago Fire Department, fire crews responded to the 8300 block of West Balmoral Avenue near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Friday. Man dies after car flips in attempt to flee shooting on South Side: CPD According to the CFD, one firefighter is reportedly in critical condition and two others in fair condition.No further information has been made available at this time.Stay with WGN-TV as this story develops.

Northwestern football hires another assistant ahead of 2023 season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — As the team prepares to play a season under an interim head coach, Northwestern is bringing on another assistant to help the program transition to a new era.This man is going to give David Braun some help on the defensive side of the ball..@NUFBFamily has made official the hiring of D.J Vokolek as a defensive assistant..He was Nebraska’s senior defensive quality control coach in 2023 and was in his first season as Southern Illinois’ defensive coordinator before making the move to Evanston..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/fhAFNy7EhQ— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) August 11, 2023Northwestern officially hired D.J. Vokolek as a defensive assistant coach on Friday, a little over three weeks ahead of the Wildcats' season opener on September 3 against Rutgers.He's the second coach added to Braun's staff since he was named the interim coach, with veteran Skip Holtz coming on as a special assistant to the head coach. “D.J. brings a wealth of coaching experience to our defensiv...

Can Lahaina's famed banyan tree really survive?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

(KHON2) – After a fast-moving fire razed much of historic Lahaina on Maui's west side Tuesday evening, one of the few iconic landmarks left is the 150-year-old banyan tree, which was scorched but not destroyed.“Banyan Tree in Lahaina smoldering at the base, but still standing,” Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz posted Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Just about the only thing left, other than the Lighthouse.”The colossal banyan, a gift shipped from India in 1873, was just 8 feet tall when Sheriff William Owen Smith planted it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.A banyan tree stands along Lahaina town's historic Front Street in February 2018, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The 150-year-old tree was scorched by a devastating wildfire that started Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, and tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island of Maui in darkness. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)The tree grew over 60 feet high,...

Wildfire near Lockhart burns estimated 300 acres

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A grass fire sprang up Friday in Caldwell County, according to the Austin Fire Department, which said crews from Travis County were headed there to help fight it.The fire is near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. It's called the Boggy Creek Fire, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported. MAP: More than 2,500 acres have burned in Central Texas wildfires this year The fire was estimated at 300 acres and is 25% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.Shortly before 3:30 p.m., AFD said the fire broke containment lines, and additional resources from Austin and Travis County are en route to assist.Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell County near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. (KXAN Photo/Andy Way)Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell County near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. (KXAN Photo/Andy Way)Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell County near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. (KXAN Photo/Andy Way)Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell C...