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Atlanta Officials Unveil Onerous Verification Requirements for Cop City Referendum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

After organizers in Atlanta collected over 100,000 signatures for a referendum on the construction of a $90 million police training facility, city officials announced an elaborate signature verification process for the effort.Atlanta’s Interim Municipal Clerk Vanessa Waldon outlined the city’s process for verifying the signatures needed to bring the training facility to a vote in a statement on Monday. “In an effort to ensure that adequate resources are dedicated to this project, the City of Atlanta — through the adoption of the Atlanta City Council — has developed a step-by-step process to conduct the audit of the documents, of which the signature verification process maybe a critical element,” Waldon wrote.The announcement came hours after activists with the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition put a hold on their plans to submit the 104,000 signatures they have so far collected in support of a popular vote on the facility, dubbed “Cop City” by its critics. Once referendum organiz...

Imran Khan Booked Under Pakistan State Secrets Law for Allegedly Mishandling Secret Cable in 2022

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

The political crisis roiling Pakistan has morphed into a constitutional crisis. The dual crises were kicked into motion when former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from power last year and deepened with his recent imprisonment on corruption charges.Last week, the Pakistani authorities moved to charge Khan under Pakistan’s Official Secrets Act for his alleged mishandling of a classified diplomatic cable, known internally as a cipher. The March 7, 2022, cable had been at the center of a controversy in Pakistan, with Khan and his supporters claiming for a year and a half that it showed U.S. pressure to remove the prime minister. Khan publicly revealed the existence of the document in a late March 2022 rally. In April, Khan was removed by a parliamentary vote of no confidence. Most Read Police Are Getting DNA Data From People Who Think They Opted Out ...

3-alarm blaze tears through Prince George’s Co. apartment building

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

Around 100 residents are receiving support after a fire tore through a three-story building in College Park, Maryland, on Monday morning, leaving most of the structure heavily damaged.Prince George’s County Fire and EMS told WTOP that the extent of the flames caused part of the roof to collapse. An aerial survey from a Maryland State Police helicopter showed much of the building’s upper floor had been reduced to a charred wreckage.Two adult residents were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to fire department officials. No firefighters were reported hurt.The American Red Cross said its disaster action team members were aiding around 100 residents affected by the fire on Monday afternoon, from an estimated 37 units. Volunteers were on-scene providing food, water, financial and other assistance to families. The Prince George’s County fire department later said on social media that between 50 and 60 people were displaced.Approx 8:10am #PGFD units were dispatch...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanks Canadians for support after separation from wife

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday thanked Canadians for their support in his first public remarks about his family since he and his wife, Sophie, announced they are separating after 18 years of marriage.The two announced the decision in statements posted on Instagram early this month, adding they would vacation as a family. On Monday, as Trudeau returned from vacation, he was asked about how he was doing.“First I want to thank all the people who have reached out over the past few number of weeks with warm wishes, with personal messages, with personal stories that have been just wonderful and positive,” Trudeau said at a news conference in Cornwall on Prince Edward Island.It was his first press conference since the announcement.“I got 10 days with the family to focus on the kids, to focus on being together and moving forward,” he said.Trudeau, the 51-year-old scion of one of Canada’s most famous politicians, was sworn into office in 2015. Sophie Tr...

Southern California hires Washington’s Jennifer Cohen as athletic director

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jennifer Cohen has been hired as Southern California’s athletic director after seven years in the same post at the University of Washington.“There was one clear candidate who stood out,” USC President Carol Folt said of Cohen during a news conference Monday. “She’s passionate, accomplished and equally regarded as a fierce competitor.”Cohen is the first female athletic director in USC’s storied history. She replaces Mike Bohn, who resigned in May after 3 1/2 years, citing “ongoing health challenges.”There also was an athletic department review and complaints about Bohn’s management style and behavior.“This is extra special and meaningful for me to come back to my original roots and lead a storied athletic program,” said Cohen, who grew up in nearby Arcadia. “It’s a special place and time. There is so much momentum to build on. We have to put our foot on the gas and continue so we can elevate.”Folt said her goal was to have an athletic ...

Black delivery driver loses FedEx job, more than a year after he said white men attacked him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Black FedEx delivery driver who says two white men shot at and chased him in Mississippi in 2022 has now been fired from his job, he and his attorney said Monday.“I honestly feel disrespected,” the former driver, D’Monterrio Gibson, told The Associated Press shortly after he received an email from FedEx about his termination.Meredith Miller, manager of global network communications for FedEx, confirmed Monday that “Mr. Gibson is no longer employed at FedEx,” but did not respond to other questions from AP.Last Thursday, a Mississippi judge cited police errors in declaring a mistrial for the father and son charged in the attack. A detective testified about failing to give prosecutors and defense attorneys a copy of a videotaped police interview with Gibson.Carlos Moore, an attorney who has represented Gibson in a civil lawsuit, provided AP with a copy of an email Gibson received from FedEx on Monday. It said Gibson’s employment was terminated July 26, and the c...

More than 15,000 migrants helped by Denver since December

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — More than 15,000 migrants have received help from the city of Denver since an influx began at the end of 2022.The milestone happened in mid-August as Denver approached 750 migrants sheltered on any given day. The increase in migrant arrivals first occurred in December of 2022, with hundreds of people needing assistance arriving in the city each day. Check out this new 2-story sculpture in Aurora Highlands At that time, there were nearly 2,000 people being sheltered in the city. The number of migrants declined through mid-January before a slow lift carried into late March, followed by a noticeable drop in April.That changed again, though, with a spike in early May after a federal COVID-era rule limiting asylum seekers, called Title 42, ended.By mid-June, the number of people being sheltered in the city had dropped below 500 people, but it has been steadily increasing since, with 744 people being sheltered as of Monday. Pilot accused of destroying parking barrier...

Feel the speed as sports biopic ‘Gran Turismo’ races into theaters

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

Words of wisdom can come from all kinds of places, like Rihanna’s hit 2007 song “Shut up and Drive.”Words to live by.Speaking of driving, there’s a new movie speeding into theaters this week and Deco’s going for a ride with the cast of “Gran Turismo.”Take the nearest exit, Fast and the Furious because David Harbour and Archie Madekwe have a need for speed in the biographical sports drama, “Gran Turismo.”The film shares a name with the classic video game but actually is based on the real story of Jann Mardenborough, who went on to become a professional race car driver.Sounds like the kind of movie where you need to know what you’re doing right?Archie Madekwe: “I got my license a week before I arrived on set, and then it was kind of head-first, full immersion, cars 24/7.”A week?That might explain why the cars had a bone to pick with Archie.Archie Madekwe: “I’m a shell of a human. I need to lie down for...

Owner speaks out after car slams into restaurant in Plantation injuring 20

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

Newly released video showed a new angle of a vehicle crashing into a South Florida restaurant. Several customers inside were left injured, and now, the restaurant’s owner is trying his best to move forward. “We get a call, frantic, by one of our employees that a car had come through the window, through the front of our storefront and injured a bunch a people, and it made it all the way to the back of our restaurant, almost hitting the counter,” said Pete Montanez, owner of the damaged restaurant. Montanez and his wife own Thai Meal, located at 8257 W. Sunrise Blvd. The two weren’t at the restaurant Friday when the crash happened because of a family emergency. Some of their family members were at the restaurant when the car came flying through.“There was only one empty table in the whole restaurant and it was packed at 6:30 on a Friday night, and my brother in-law was here, my sister, regular customers that we know and love,” Montanez said. From th...

Brick of cocaine found at Crandon Park near Key Biscayne

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:46 GMT

A suspicious package found at a South Florida beach prompted a quick response by police.Miami-Dade Police arrived at the scene at Crandon Park near Key Biscayne, Monday afternoon. 7Skyforce hovered over the scene as officers assessed the situation. According to police, they received a call about a brick of cocaine that washed up on the shore. Officers are in the process of interviewing a kite-surfer who found the suspicious package.