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LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press/Report for America)The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and released a guidebook summarizing laws it deems discriminatory in each state, along with “know your rights” information and resources to help people relocate to states with stronger LGBTQ+ protections.Sounding the alarm about the current political environment, the nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said advisories warning against travel to dangerous places aren’t enough to help people already living in so-called hostile states. Just a few days into Pride Month, the campaign said it’s taking action in response to an “unprecedented and dangerous” spike in discriminatory legislation sweeping state houses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced and more than 70 signed into law so far in 2023 ̵...

Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. settles civil sex abuse case, averting trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Just as a trial was to begin, it was revealed Tuesday that Cuba Gooding Jr. has settled accusations that he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago, according to court records. The actor had insisted through lawyers that his encounter with the woman was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant.The trial was to start with jury selection in New York federal court as the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star faced allegations that he met the woman in Manhattan, persuaded her to join him at a hotel, and convinced her to stop at his room so he could change clothing.Minutes after jurors were to begin assembling in a courtroom, a calendar entry in the official court record said: “TRIAL OFF.” It added: “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”The woman had proceeded anonymously until last week, when Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that she would ...

What are the takeaways from Prince Harry’s day in a London court?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

LONDON (AP) — It was a rare sight — a senior British royal testifying in a court of law.What Prince Harry said, both during cross-examination in the witness box Tuesday and in his written witness statement, was just as unusual. By turns defensive, frank and accusatory, his testimony shone a light on life as a royal and on Harry’s bitter personal feud with the press.Here’s what to know after a historic day at the High Court in London.A LIFETIME OF INTRUSIONHarry, 38, is suing the publisher of the Daily Mirror over 33 articles published between 1996 and 2011 that he says were based on phone hacking or other illegal snooping methods.The stories represent a fragment of decades of press coverage that Harry says has warped his life and those of his friends and loved ones.In his witness statement, Harry claimed that during his adolescence and young adulthood, tabloids cast him in a role — “the ‘thicko,’ the ‘cheat,’ the ‘underage drinker,’ the ‘irresponsible drug taker.’”“I ended up feelin...

US sanctions group of people and firms from Iran, China and Hong Kong tied to Iran ballistic program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. said Tuesday it is sanctioning a group of people and firms from Iran, China and Hong Kong associated with the alleged development of Iran’s ballistic missile program.The network of seven people and six firms “facilitated procurement of sensitive and critical parts and technology for key actors in Iran’s ballistic missile development,” including Iran’s defense ministry and its affiliated firms, according to the Treasury Department. Among the sanctions targets are the China-based firm Zhejiang Qingji, which has allegedly sold centrifuges and other materials to an Iran-based firm affiliated with the nation’s defense ministry. Also designated for sanctions were several executives at Qingji and the Hong Kong-based Lingoe Process Engineering Limited, which Treasury said served as a front company for the Chinese firm. Also named is Iran’s Defense Attaché in Beijing, Davoud Damghani, who is alleged to coordinate purchases from China for Iran end-users....

US-Apple-Podcasts-Top-Podcasts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

Top New Shows (US):1. The Broski Report with Brittany Broski, Brittany Broski & Audioboom Studios2. Pretty, Not Smart with Louie and Yoatzi Castro, Louie and Yoatzi Castro & Studio713. The Smylie Show, SiriusXM4. Queen Havoc and Her Murder Cult, iHeartPodcasts 5. Oversharing with Colleen Ballinger & Trisha Paytas, Colleen Ballinger & Trisha Paytas6. Codependents, Ciara Miller & Mya Allen7. The King Road Killings: An Idaho Murder Mystery, ABC News8. The Overcomers with Matt Chandler, Matt Chandler9. Jen Rubin’s Green Room, Politicon10. Keep it Positive, Sweetie, Crystal Renee HayslettThe Associated Press

EU member Slovenia overwhelmingly defeats Moscow ally Belarus for a seat on the UN Security Council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In an election reflecting opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine, European Union member Slovenia overwhelmingly defeated Moscow’s close ally Belarus on Tuesday for a seat on the U.N. Security Council starting in January.The race between the two members of the U.N.’s East European group was the only contested election for five seats on the U.N.’s most powerful body, and was closely watched because of the two countries’ opposing views on Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine.In the secret ballot election in the 193-member General Assembly, Slovenia received 153 votes while Belarus got just 38 votes.The four other countries elected to the Security Council to serve two-year terms were Guyana which received 191 votes, Sierra Leone 188 votes, Algeria 184 votes and South Korea 180 votes.The five new council members will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing five countries whose two-year terms end on Dec. 31 — Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and United Arab Emi...

Milley says fighting in Ukraine has increased and cautions it will continue for lengthy time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

AMERICAN CEMETERY, Normandy, France (AP) — U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday that fighting in Ukraine has increased, but he cautioned against reading too much into each day’s operations.“There’s activity throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine and fighting has picked up a bit,” Milley said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France — the final resting place of almost 9,400 troops who died 79 years ago during the allied D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.Milley said it was up to Ukraine to announce whether its counteroffensive campaign has formally begun, but he said Ukrainian troops are ready for this fight. “It’s our estimation that the Ukrainian military is well prepared for whatever they do — they choose to fight in the offensive fight or in the defense,” he said. “They’re well-prepared.”But he also warned that as time goes on the fighting will vary.“Like the Battle of Normandy or any other major bat...

Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina star in ‘Based on a True Story,’ a tale of a killer idea that goes awry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

In the new Peacock series “ Based on a True Story,” debuting Thursday, Kaley Cuoco plays Ava, a woman obsessed with true crime. She consumes these dark stories all day, analyzes the cases with her friends and murder-centric podcasts help lull her to sleep at night.“Do we have to wake up to murder every morning?” her husband Nathan, played by Chris Messina, asks in a scene. The series highlights an explosion of coverage of true crime in recent years. It is the subject of podcasts, documentary series, books, and social media posts where amateur sleuths breathlessly weigh in on the latest crime du jour. In “Based on a True Story,” Ava hatches a plan to start a podcast — hosted by the couple — to interview a serial killer. She is confident that it will be lucrative and add excitement into their otherwise middle-aged monotony. The choices made by Ava and Nathan in the series, argues Cuoco, are similar to the subjects of actual true crime stories whose fate is determined by on...

Poilievre calls on Liberals to make killers like Bernardo stay in max-security prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should see to it that mass murderers serve their entire sentences in maximum-security prison. The call comes as Trudeau’s government deals with the fallout from a Correctional Service of Canada decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec. Anne Kelly, commissioner of the federal correctional service, announced the move was under review after Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said he expressed to her how shocked Canadians were by the decision.Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, torture and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French in 1991 and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in 1992. Mendicino said he is unable to reverse the decision himself because the federal correctional service operates as an independent institution. “I’m calling on the prime minister to direct his public safety minister to say that all mass murderers should have to s...

Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach, now he’s a TikTok star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:56 GMT

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — World War II veteran Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American best known on social media under the name “Papa Jake,” enjoyed giving hugs to the many fans he met during his trip to Normandy for D-Day commemorations. Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, attended a ceremony on Tuesday at the American Cemetery marking the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.“I got in on the planning of D-Day … I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok,” he told The Associated Press with enthusiasm. “You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded.“I’m 100 without an ache or a pain. You can’t fake that,” he said.On Monday, Larson went to the Pegasus Memorial, a site commemorating a key D-Day operation, when ...