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Ticker: Free speech group sues over TikTok bans; Mortgage rate surged to nearly 7% 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others over bans of TikTok on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which extends to public universities – is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom.The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York that’s suing on behalf a coalition of academics and researchers who study technology’s impact on society.The lawsuit said the state’s decision to restrict access to TikTok on official devices, as well as on personal devices used to conduct state business, is comprising teaching and research. And more specifically, it said it was “seriously impeding” faculty pursuing research into the app – including research that could illuminate or counter concerns about TikTok.Critics of TikTok have claimed the social media app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, could push pro-Beijing propaganda on its platform or han...

As All-Star break nears end without new Camden Yards lease, Orioles’ John Angelos and Gov. Moore say they’re ‘determined to make it happen’ before year-end expiration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

Both baseball season and the calendar year have passed their respective midpoints. The Orioles remain without a long-term lease to keep them at Camden Yards.In February, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos said he would “love to have [a new lease] as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.” The All-Star break ends Friday, when the Orioles begin the second half of their season against the Miami Marlins, but no new deal has been struck between the team and the Maryland Stadium Authority, which serves as its landlord at Oriole Park.In a joint statement Thursday from Democrat Gov. Wes Moore and Angelos, the two sides did not provide particulars on lease negotiations, but said progress is being made on their “vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.”“We are determined to make it happen, and soon,” said the statement, which was originally credited to Moore and the Orioles before the team issued an amendment abou...

Biden proclaims NATO alliance ‘more united than ever’ in contrast to predecessor Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM, CHRIS MEGERIAN and JARI TANNER (Associated Press)HELSINKI (AP) — The itinerary included a NATO summit, a brief stop in the United Kingdom and a coda in the Finnish shoreline capital that included a news conference in the ornate Gothic Hall at the presidential place.The president was Donald Trump and the year was 2018. In July of that year, Trump had upended the annual gathering of the military alliance, criticized the British prime minister to the London tabloids and ultimately, in Helsinki, sided with Russian leader Vladimir Putin while casting doubt on his own intelligence community.President Joe Biden’s journey through Europe this week was nearly identical, but every point of his three-country tour was an unsaid yet indelible rebuke of his predecessor who tore through the continent a half-decade ago. It was a portrait of a leader whose ardent belief in international alliances will be part of his case for reelection, particularly if Biden faces a rema...

Yankees scouting boss explains why George Lombard Jr. was the pick in first round of MLB draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

The Yankees drafted yet another player with Vanderbilt ties in the first round of the MLB draft. Shortstop George Lombard Jr. from Gulliver Prep High School (Fla.) was selected 26th overall by the Bombers on Sunday.The son of former major leaguer George Lombard was committed to play shortstop for Vanderbilt just as Anthony Volpe was back in the 2019 draft. Now Lombard will have to make the decision to head to Nashville or jumpstart his professional career with the Yanks.The selection of the 18-year-old comes a year after the Yanks dipped into the Vanderbilt basket again selecting outfielder Spencer Jones with their first-round pick in the 2022 draft.“It does look like we’ve gone down that route. It says something about Vanderbilt,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ Vice President of Domestic Amateur Scouting. “They recruit good players, they have a good program and — just like we do — they do their deep dives into what kind of human being...

Pentagon says cluster munitions have arrived in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Cluster munitions provided by the United States have now arrived in Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday.The munitions — which are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — are seen by the U.S. as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines. U.S. leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before President Joe Biden made the final decision last week.U.S. leaders have said the U.S. will send a version of the munition that has a reduced “dud rate,” meaning fewer of the smaller bomblets fail to explode. The unexploded rounds, which often litter battlefields and populated civilian areas, cause unintended deaths. U.S. officials said Washington will provide thousands of the rounds, but provided no specific numbers.Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of operations for the Joint staff, told reporters on Thursday...

Hollywood actors join screenwriters on strike in first joint walkout since 1960, halting production across the industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors join screenwriters on strike in first joint walkout since 1960, halting production across the industry.

12-year-old boy shot and killed in Boston, police ask public for help in the investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in Mattapan Thursday afternoon, according to police who are asking the public for help in the investigation.Boston Police responded to the area of 35 Fessenden St., in Mattapan for a reported shooting at around 2:06 p.m. The shooting appears to have happened inside the residence, a triple decker.The boy was transported to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries,” a Boston Police spokesperson said.Around 4 p.m., police during a press conference outside the residence announced that the boy had died. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.“It’s a horrible tragedy for the entire city whenever any one of our young people is lost,” Mayor Michelle Wu said, adding, “And for a child of this age being lost to gun violence is a nightmare.”Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden called the boy’s death “tragic” and “absolutely unspeakable.”Hayden asked for the public’...

Guatemala’s political turmoil deepens as 1 candidate is targeted and the other suspends her campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala sank deeper into political turmoil Thursday as prosecutors targeted a progressive presidential candidate who proved to be surprisingly popular, prompting his opponent to suspend her campaign, saying the playing field was no longer even.The government’s actions against candidate Bernardo Arévalo — first suspending his Seed Movement party, then raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified election results — sparked other objections as well, from within and outside Guatemala. U.S. officials called them a threat to the country’s democracy. By Thursday afternoon, those actions appeared to have backfired. Candidates left and right warned the government to let the voters’ prevail — not likely what President Alejandro Giammattei expected when his administration decided to intervene in the June 25 election, which ended with Arévalo and conservative candidate Sandra Torres moving on to an Aug. 20 presidential runoff. Arév...

Deputy punching baby-holding mother’s face was ‘completely unacceptable,’ LA County sheriff says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the second time in a week, the Los Angeles County sheriff decried the use of force by deputies in the Antelope Valley after the Sheriff’s Department released video on Wednesday of a deputy punching a woman twice in the face as she held her baby.The edited video from body camera footage shows the July 2022 encounter during a traffic stop in Palmdale, northeast of Los Angeles.At a news conference, Sheriff Robert Luna said he found the punching “completely unacceptable” and has sent the case to the county district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges against the deputy. The FBI also was alerted, Luna said.Luna said the deputy, whom he didn’t name, has been taken off field duty. Last week, Luna said two deputies had been pulled from field duty after video surfaced of a deputy in neighboring Lancaster violently tackling a woman while she filmed a man being handcuffed, then pepper-spraying her in the face on June 24...

Georgia athletics, Jalen Carter sued by passenger in fatal crash of Bulldogs player and staffer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A woman seriously injured in the January car crash that killed Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and an athletics staffer has sued the school’s athletics association and former Bulldogs defensive tackle Jalen Carter for damages.Victoria S. Bowles was riding in the backseat of the rented Ford Expedition driven by fellow UGA recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy, who died in the Jan. 15 crash along with Willock while racing Carter at more than 104 mph following the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff championship celebration.Bowles’ lawsuit filed Wednesday in Gwinnett County State Court accuses the UGA Athletics Association of negligent entrustment of LeCroy and states that the association was aware that she had at least two “super speeder” violations among four speeding tickets prior to the crash. Bowles sustained multiple serious injuries in the crash including lumbar and rib fractures, a spinal cord injury and lacerations to the kidney and liver, the lawsuit stated...