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The Supreme Court will hear an NRA appeal in a dispute with a former New York state official

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear an appeal from the National Rifle Association over comments from a former New York state official who urged banks and insurance companies to discontinue their association with gun promoting groups after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.The justices will hear arguments early next year in the NRA’s appeal, which claimed that remarks by former New York State Department of Financial Services superintendent Maria Vullo violated the group’s First Amendment rights. Following the February 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people, Vullo spoke out against gun violence. She issued “guidance letters” to businesses and a press statement calling upon banks and insurance companies operating in New York to consider “reputational risks” arising from doing business with the NRA or other gun groups. The NRA, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, sued Vullo after multiple ent...

Stellar women’s field takes aim at New York City Marathon record on Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City Marathon women’s record, which has stood for 20 years, could go down Sunday with one of the strongest fields assembled in the history of the race.Reigning champion Sharon Lokedi looks to defend her title against a stellar group of female runners that includes Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, Olympic gold medalist and 2021 New York champion Peres Jepchirchir and former marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei.“It was very life-changing,” Lokedi said of winning last year. “Very excited to be back here again.”She’ll have some added support from her mother, who flew to New York from Kenya and will be waiting at the finish line in Central Park.All will be aiming for the $50,000 bonus if they can beat the NYC event record of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003. Obiri won the Boston Marathon in April, lowering her personal best to 2:21:38. “The field will be very strong when I’m together with them,” Kosgei said.Lokedi won in her marat...

Christiane Amanpour to debut weekly show after years of reduced presence on domestic CNN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For what it’s worth, CNN’s best-known international journalist, Christiane Amanpour, also found it odd that she’s had little visible presence on the company’s North American network for the past several years.That changes Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern with the debut of “The Amanpour Hour,” part of a revamped Saturday morning lineup that will also feature shows headlined by Chris Wallace, Michael Smerconish and Victor Blackwell.The London-based Amanpour envisions her show as a weekly letter to Americans about what is going on in the world and why it’s important to them.Amanpour, 65 and celebrating her 40th year at CNN, was for a long time the face viewers were most likely to see reporting from the world’s hotspots. That has primarily, although not always, been left to others since she began hosting the studio show “Amanpour” each weekday.That program airs at 1 p.m. Eastern on CNN International, a network that, as its name suggests, is...

Virginia teacher shot by 6-year-old can proceed with $40 million lawsuit, judge rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40 million against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday.The surprise decision by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers compensation for the serious injuries caused by January’s classroom shooting. Lawyers for Newport News Public Schools had tried to block the lawsuit, arguing that Zwerner was eligible only for workers compensation. It provides up to nearly 10 years pay and lifetime medical care for injuries.Hoffman disagreed with the school board, concluding that Zwerner’s injuries “did not arise out of her employment” and therefore did not “fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.” The judge wrote: “The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade tea...

2 killed as flooding hits Kenya, sweeping away homes and destroying roads, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Heavy rains and flooding ravaged parts of Kenya on Friday, sweeping away homes and livestock and destroying roads and electric transmission lines, authorities said. At least two people were killed and at least one was missing.One of the victims died after a house collapsed under heavy rains in the coastal city of Mombasa, police said, while the second was swept away by floods in Meru County in central Kenya. Emergency workers were searching for a third person believed to have drowned in Isiolo, in the country’s north.Kenya’s Meteorological Department had earlier warned of above average rainfall until Monday. “Flood waters may appear in places where it has not rained heavily especially downstream. Residents are advised to avoid driving through, or walking in moving water or open fields and not to shelter under trees and near grilled windows when raining to minimize exposure to lightning strikes,” read the alertIn Mombasa, heavy rains caused flash floods, w...

Slight change to Dakota Access pipeline comment meeting format, Army Corps says after complaints

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the wake of complaints, changed the format of oral testimony for public comments on a draft environmental review of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline.The Corps held two meetings in Bismarck, on Wednesday and Thursday, for public comments on the document that will help determine whether the federal government grants the easement for the pipeline’s crossing under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline due to the risk of an oil spill.Pipeline opponents had criticized the Wednesday meeting because oral testimony was only accepted in private to stenographers in a curtained area in a hotel ballroom. Many people spoke to the room outside of the curtained area, but what they said was not included as official testimony. For example, one man made a demonstration of challenging Corps officials to drink from a cup in which he had poured oil and ...

Can Trump be on the ballot in 2024? It can hinge on the meaning of ‘insurrection’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Can former President Donald Trump run for his old job again after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol? The answer may depend on the definition of insurrection.Liberal groups have filed lawsuits in Colorado, Minnesota and other states to bar Trump from the ballot, citing a rarely used constitutional prohibition against holding office for those who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution but then “engaged in insurrection” against it. The two-sentence clause in the 14th Amendment has been used only a handful of times since the years after the Civil War.Because of that, there’s almost no case law defining its terms, including what would constitute an “insurrection.” While people have argued about whether to call Jan. 6 an insurrection ever since the days following the attack, the debate in court this week has been different — whether those who ratified the amendment in 1868 would call it one.“There’s this very public fight, in all these co...

Judges toss lawsuit targeting North Dakota House subdistricts for tribal nations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal three-judge panel in North Dakota has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Republican district officials who alleged that the consideration of race was unconstitutional in the creation of state House subdistricts that included ones encompassing tribal nations.The lawsuit filed early last year by the two GOP legislative district officials targeted the two subdivided districts the Legislature drew in 2021, which included subdistricts for the Fort Berthold and Turtle Mountain Indian reservations. The lawsuit alleged that the “racial gerrymandering” was a violation of the equal protection clause.The ruling issued Thursday by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter Welte, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ralph Erickson and U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted motions for summary judgment made by the state and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case.The judges said th...

Barrie GO line to be suspended tonight until Monday: Metrolinx

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

It will be a weekend of riding the bus for anyone who was hoping to take the GO Train out of Barrie.GO Rail service on the Barrie Line will be temporarily suspended as of 9 p.m. Friday night until the end of service on Sunday.Regular service will resume on Monday, November 6.Metrolinx says the temporary closure will allow for ongoing track maintenance as well as platform upgrades at Maple GO, and switch upgrades near Aurora GO.Shuttle buses will be replacing the trains between Allendale Waterfront GO and Union Station.Downsview Park GO will not be served by any GO bus replacements, Metrolinx added, advising customers to use the TTC instead.“Buses do not have the same capacity as trains and shuttle buses may experience longer than normal travel times,” Metrolinx warned.

Brighton Park residents file lawsuit against city, mayor over proposed migrant camp site

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:07 GMT

CHICAGO — Some southwest side residents are taking legal action against the city and Mayor Brandon Johnson over a proposed migrant camp site.As the city searches options to house migrants, several sites are being considered for future use.According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the vacant lot at 38th and California in Brighton Park will be used as a tent basecamp and could house up to 2,000 migrants.The Sun-Times also reports the city signed a lease with the property owners on October 26 and will pay them $91,400 a month to use the land.In a statement, the 12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez said, “The city did not inform me that a lease had been signed. I continue to be frustrated and disappointed in the administration’s lack of transparency with my community and am deeply concerned that a lease would be signed prior to a full environmental assessment taking place. The city owes 12th Ward residents an explanation.”Controversy over the site has sparked numerous protests. Now, some Bright...