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Missouri budgets $50M for railroad crossings in response to fatal 2022 Amtrak derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and state transportation officials on Thursday outlined options for spending the first chunk of $50 million budgeted for railroad crossing improvements in an effort to prevent tragedies like last year’s fatal Amtrak derailment.The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that poor design contributed to the derailment in the north-central Missouri town of Mendon , which killed four people and injured 146 others.Recommendations from a $750,000 study unveiled Thursday suggest changes at 47 public rail crossings on three tracks that carry passenger trains throughout Missouri for a total cost of about $18.5 million. Total closure is recommended at 17 crossings, including the Mendon site where the crash occurred. The rest of the $50 million is planned for improvements at freight train crossings. The 27 crossings slated for improvements do not have lights, barriers or other alerts to warn drivers when a train is approaching. T...

A dancer is fatally stabbed after a confrontation in New York, prompting a tribute from Beyoncé

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The fatal stabbing of a gay man after a confrontation between a group of friends who were dancing to a Beyoncé song and young men who apparently took offense has outraged New York City’s LGBTQ community and spurred Beyoncé herself to post a tribute on her website.No arrests have been made in Saturday’s stabbing of O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer, at a Brooklyn gas station.Police have released few details on the investigation and haven’t discussed a motive, but a friend who was there, Otis Pena, said in an emotional Facebook video that Sibley died “because he stood up for his friends.”Sibley performed with the dance company Philadanco in his native Philadelphia and in New York. He used dance to celebrate his LGBTQ identity in works such as “ Soft: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men,” choreographed by Kemar Jewel.Sibley took classes with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Ailey Extension program, whose director, Lisa J...

Home on Long Island Sound in Greenwich, Connecticut sells for almost $139 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — Copper Beech Farm, with 50 acres (20 hectares) of waterfront property in the tony New York suburb of Greenwich, has sold for just under $139 million, believed to be a record home sale in Connecticut, Sotheby’s International Realty said ThursdayThe estate, once owned by a family that helped start what is now U.S. Steel, dates back to the late 19th century. The main house is a 13,500-square-foot mansion with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms. There also is a three-bedroom gatehouse and a two-bedroom carriage house with a clock tower.The estate includes a swimming pool, a grass tennis court, an apple orchard and two private beaches along Long Island Sound.“We always have significant demand for Greenwich waterfront,” listing agent Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty said. “This is the ultimate in Greenwich waterfront in terms of the overall acreage size and the unprecedented amount of shoreline associated with it.”McElwreath said the property, wh...

Trump’s plane heads to Washington for court appearance. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

Follow along for live updates as Donald Trump is due to appear in federal court Thursday after being indicted by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It’s the third criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House. ___WHAT TO KNOW— Here’s a breakdown of the sprawling election indictment— Trump lawyer hints at a First Amendment defense in the Jan. 6 case— Republicans are remaining silent about the latest charges against Trump— The judge assigned to Trump’s case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters— Here’s where the various cases involving Trump stand___EN ROUTE TO WASHINGTON Trump’s plane has departed for Washington ahead of the former president’s court appearance on charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump, wearing a suit and red tie, left his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Thursday ...

Scores injured after protesters against Eritrea’s government attack cultural festival in Sweden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — An Eritrea-themed cultural festival in a Stockholm suburb took a violent turn on Thursday when about a thousand anti-Eritrean government protesters stormed the event, leaving at least 52 people injured, Swedish media reported. The protesters set booths and vehicles ablaze, sending smoke billowing into the sky. Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that up to a thousand protesters marched towards the festival grounds, pushing past police cordons and using sticks and rocks as weapons.Swedish police spokesperson Daniel Wikdahl told The Associated Press that “between 100 and 200 people have been detained.” A significant police presence is still at the scene and investigations are underway, he said. Sweden is home to tens of thousands of people with Eritrean roots. The festival devoted to the cultural heritage of Eritrea is an annual event that has been held since the 1990s but has been criticized for allegedly serving as a promotional tool and source of money for the Afr...

Tunisian minister concedes ‘small groups’ of migrants were pushed back into desert no man’s land

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s interior minister conceded that small groups of sub-Saharan migrants trying to enter the country are pushed back into the desert border areas with Libya and Algeria, but labeled as “false allegations” claims by the U.N., humanitarian groups and migrants themselves of mistreatment.In an interview with The Associated Press Wednesday, Kamel Fekih said that while there is no “collective” expulsion of migrants, small groups trying to enter Tunisia are pushed back into the desert no man’s land. However, he disputed remarks earlier this week by the deputy spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, who called on Tuesday for an “immediate end” to “the expulsion of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Tunisia to the borders with Libya and also Algeria.”“What is this monsieur from the U.N. talking about?” the Tunisian interior minister said in the interview Wednesday. “There are no collective deportations by us.” But he did say that ...

Babies should get new drug that prevents RSV, CDC panel says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

Infants should get a new drug to protect them against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year, heath advisers recommended Thursday.An infection with RSV is a coldlike nuisance for most healthy people, but it can be life-threatening for the very young and the elderly. There are no vaccines for babies yet so the new drug, a lab-made antibody that helps the immune system fight off the virus, is expected to fill a critical need.The drug, developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi, is expected to be ready in the fall before the RSV season, typically November through March. In the U.S., about 58,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year and several hundred die.A panel of outside advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the one-time shot for infants born just before or during the RSV season and for those less than 8 months old before the season starts. They also recommended a dose for some o...

Brazilian president’s former lawyer is taking seat as Supreme Court justice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The former personal lawyer of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is taking a seat on the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday amid criticism that their relationship poses a conflict of interest.Lula appointed Cristiano Zanin in June, drawing accusations from the opposition that he is jeopardizing the impartiality of Brazil’s highest court by making a friend one of its justices. The president denies having a friendship with the lawyer. Zanin, who holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, specializes in procedural and business law.He helped Lula overturn convictions stemming from Brazil’s sprawling “Car Wash” corruption investigation, getting him freed after 580 days of incarceration. The Supreme Court annulled all convictions of Lula, and ruled in 2021 that the judge overseeing the case had been biased. That allowed Lula to run successfuly for his third, non-consecutive presidential term.In July, senators exam...

Man killed in shooting at Lansing gas station ID'd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

LANSING, Ill. — A man who was fatally shot during an armed robbery at a gas station in Lansing Thursday morning has been identified.The medical examiner's office identified the man as 53-year-old Cameron Webster Sr. The shooting happened at the QuikTrip gas station near the 17300 block of Torrence Avenue around 4:39 a.m.According to police, an armed robbery took place outside the gas station where Webster Sr. was shot and killed on the scene. At this time, police cannot confirm how many people fired shots. Woman killed, toddler son among 3 others shot on South Side An active investigation into the shooting is underway with the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force assisting. Lansing Police Chief Al Phillips told WGN the gas station had just opened a few weeks ago. Police said officers are working with QuikTrip to review surveillance video of the shooting.

Michael Jordan’s sale of majority ownership of Hornets finalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The sale of the majority stake of the Charlotte Hornets from six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall has been finalized, the team announced Thursday.The Hornets planned to introduce Plotkin and Schnall at a news conference later in the day.Jordan, who has owned the team for the past 13 years, said in a news release that it was a “tremendous honor” to own the Hornets but didn’t give an explanation for why he sold the franchise.He will remain on as a minority owner. Years after retirement, Michael Jordan memorabilia still going strong “I’m proud of all that the organization accomplished: the exciting on-court moments, the return of the Hornets name, Charlotte hosting the 2019 NBA All-Star Game and HSE (Hornets Sports and Entertainment) becoming a true pillar of this community,” Jordan said. “Through the years, the unwavering commitment, passion and loyalty of our Hornets fans has been incredible. As I transition into a minority ow...