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Activists turn backs on US officials as UN-backed human rights review of United States wraps up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Dozens of U.S. activists who champion LGBTQ, indigenous and reproductive rights and who campaign against discrimination turned their backs Wednesday in a silent protest against what they called insufficient U.S. government responses to their human rights concerns.The protesters, who came from places as diverse as Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and beyond, led the demonstration before the independent Human Rights Committee as U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor wrapped up a two-day hearing on the United States. It was part of a regular human rights review for all U.N. member countries by the committee.Six other countries including Haiti, Iran and Venezuela also were undergoing public sessions this autumn in Geneva to see how well countries are adhering to their commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — one of only a handful of international human rights treaties that the United States has ratified.The protest came as Taylor said the U.S. commitm...

Mexico says leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras to attend weekend migration summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras will attend a summit on migration that Mexico will host Sunday. The four countries are among the biggest sources of migrants currently showing up at the U.S. border.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Cuba and Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti will attend the meeting in the southern city of Palenque, along with Honduran President Xiomara Castro. López Obrador said the leaders of Ecuador and Guatemala also will attend, and that other countries are expected to send officials to the meeting. López Obrador said the meeting will address migration and the root causes that lead people to leave their home countries.López Obrador recently acknowledged that migration has spiked and that as many as 10,000 migrants are crossing Mexico daily to reach the U.S. border.Many are coming through the jungle-clad Darien Gap. Panama...

Suspect sought after student stabbed at Scarborough high school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect after a student was stabbed at a high school in Scarborough on Wednesday.Officers were called Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute near Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue East around 12 p.m. for reports of a stabbing.Police say a student was found at the scene with non-life-threatening injuries.Police are searching for a male suspect described as five feet four inches tall with blonde hair and a grey hoodie. It’s unclear if the suspect is also a student.This is a developing story. More to come.

Author Michael Connelly proud that ‘Bosch’ has become longest running streaming character

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Connelly has sold more than 85 million books under nearly 40 titles, but there’s another distinction that makes him equally proud: His most famous protagonist, LAPD Det. Harry Bosch, has become the longest running character on streaming television.“I know the history of streaming is very short, but it’s still something that we’re very, very proud of,” Connelly said.Based on his book series, “Bosch” ran seven seasons on Amazon, and then spun off as “Bosch: Legacy,” which premieres its second season Friday on Amazon Freevee.But that’s not the only streaming series based on his books — Netflix recently premiered the second season of “The Lincoln Lawyer,” whose protagonist, Mickey Haller, is the half-brother of Bosch. While the pair have appeared in books together, they’re unlikely to appear together on television because they’re on separate streaming networks.Recently, the best-selling author spoke with The Associated Press about the legacy of his detectiv...

Florida men plead guilty to charges related to a drive-by-shooting that left 11 wounded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Two men have pleaded guilty to charges related to a drive-by-shooting in central Florida that left 11 people wounded earlier this year, federal authorities said Wednesday.Nicholas Hanson and Marcus Mobley have pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition and possessing a firearm and ammunition as convicted felons. They could be sentenced to 15 years in prison at a later sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors said in a news release.Eleven men were wounded in January when a four-door sedan pulled up near an intersection in Lakeland, Florida, where people were milling about. People from inside the vehicle started shooting in all directions. Only a minute earlier, a school bus had dropped off children in the Lakeland neighborhood, authorities said.According to prosecutors, Mobley owned the vehicle, and DNA samples from both men were recovered from spent shell casings found at the scene. Both men had prior felony convictions and were prohibited from possessing firearms ...

Accused in London, Ont., truck attack researched pedestrian fatality rates in crashes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

The man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., in an alleged act of terrorism is telling a jury he researched fatality rates of pedestrians hit by vehicles a day before his attack.On the stand in the Windsor, Ont., courtroom where his trial is taking place, Nathaniel Veltman says he considered using his pickup truck to carry out an attack and looked up information online on what happens when pedestrians get struck by cars.Veltman says he wrote down data he found online that indicated the likelihood of pedestrian injury and death increased if the vehicle hitting them was travelling at higher speeds.The 22-year-old Veltman is accused of deliberately hitting the Afzaal family with his truck in June 2021 while they were out for a walk in London _ prosecutors have alleged his actions amount to an act of terrorism.He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.Veltman has been testifying in his own defence and...

Press freedom group says Taliban court has freed a French-Afghan journalist held for 284 days

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A Taliban court in Afghanistan has released a French-Afghan journalist held for 284 days and cleared him of espionage and other charges, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday.The press freedom group said it is now working to quickly reunite Mortaza Behboudi with his wife, Alexandra, in Paris.“It is the end of a painful ordeal,” said Christophe Deloire, the group’s secretary general.Behboudi was arrested on Jan. 7, two days after he arrived in Afghanistan as part of a reporting assignment. Behboudi was awarded the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents last year for a series of reports about life in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.The Associated Press

Elephant dies at St. Louis Zoo shortly after her herd became agitated from a dog running loose

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A female Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo died shortly after her herd became agitated from a small dog running loose, zoo officials said.Rani (pronounced Rahn-ee) died Friday at age 27. The zoo announced her death on Tuesday.“We are absolutely devastated. We ask for the community’s thoughts and support during this difficult time,” zoo Director Michael Macek said in a news release. “Our team of professional animal care experts did everything possible, but we couldn’t save Rani.”A small, unleashed dog was seen running in a non-public area near the Elephant Barn Friday afternoon. Elephant care workers were trying to contain the dog, but an elephant outside the barn became agitated and was moved inside, the zoo said.Rani was already inside the barn, eating, and didn’t see the dog. But members of the elephant care team “observed Rani become agitated in reaction to the vocalizations from the herd. They saw Rani circle and vocalize, all within a very brief period,...

Italy suspends open border with Slovenia, citing increased terror threat as Mideast violence spikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italy on Wednesday announced it will suspend an open-border agreement with neighboring Slovenia, citing an increased threat of terrorism in Europe due to violence in the Middle East.Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right-led government said authorities in the northeastern border region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia had identified 16,000 people so far this year who had entered Italy illegally across the Slovenian border, the last stop on the Balkan route that some migrants take to enter western Europe. That is in addition to the 140,000 migrant arrivals in Italy by sea, an increase of 85% over 2022.The government said in a statement that the Interior Ministry’s anti-terrorism committee was looking into the situation, which “confirms the necessity of” reinforcing Italy’s border.Italy said it would resume border controls starting Oct. 21 for 10 days.Italy and Slovenia are among 26 countries that belong to the Schengen area, the world’s largest free travel zo...

Nebraska governor faces backlash for comments on reporter’s nationality

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:41 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is facing backlash after comments he made about the Chinese nationality of a reporter whose story cited environmental concerns at farms owned by the governor.Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu wrote a story in September revealing that 16 of Pillen’s farms recorded nitrate levels at least five times higher than what is considered safe to drink. Consuming high levels of nitrate has been linked to health problems such as thyroid disease, birth defects and cancer, according to the report.Pillen, a Republican, was asked on a radio show days later about the story.“No. 1, I didn’t read it. And I won’t,” Pillen said. “No. 2, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”In a column posted Tuesday, Flatwater Free Press Executive Director Matt Wynn wrote that the governor’s comments infuriated him as an employer and saddened him as a believer in democracy and a free pres...