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As Trump returns to court, judge in his fraud trial clarifies comments ex-president took as a win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge indicated Tuesday that he’s not embracing former President Donald Trump’s view that most claims in his civil business fraud trial are too old for court, as the defense had hoped the judge would after the trial’s first day.With Trump voluntarily in court for a second day, Judge Arthur Engoron set the record straight about a comment that the ex-president had claimed as an important victory.The issue: Engoron had suggested on Monday that testimony about Trump’s 2011 financial statement might be beyond the legal time limit applicable to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, which alleges that Trump and his business chronically lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and others. The relevant statute of limitations bars claims related to activities before a date in 2014, and Trump’s legal team has argued that the ...

McCarthy ouster vote ahead as he confronts GOP critics but says he won’t cut a deal with Democrats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy is confronting his hard-right critics head-on Tuesday as he faces a historic challenge to oust him from leadership, insisting he will not cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power and setting the stage for an extraordinary and unpredictable showdown on the House floor. The Republican McCarthy’s fate is deeply uncertain as he faces what’s known as a “motion to vacate” from Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a strident critic allied with Donald Trump. It would take the support of only a handful of Republicans from his slim majority to remove McCarthy as speaker if Democrats vote in favor alongside the conservative rebels.Behind closed doors early Tuesday, McCarthy told fellow Republicans: Let’s get on with it.“If I counted how many times someone wanted to knock me out, I would have been gone a long time ago,” McCarthy said at the Capitol after a private morning meeting.It’s a stunning moment for the embattled McCarthy that serves as the...

South Africa culls about 7.5 million chickens in an effort to contain bird flu outbreaks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa has culled about 7.5 million chickens in an effort to contain dozens of outbreaks of two separate strains of avian influenza that threaten to create a shortage of eggs and poultry for consumers, the government and national poultry association said Tuesday.At least 205,000 chickens have died from bird flu in at least 60 separate outbreaks across the country, with more than half of those outbreaks in Gauteng province, which includes the country’s biggest city, Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria.Some grocery stores in Johannesburg were limiting the number of eggs customers were allowed to buy this week — in some cases to one carton of six eggs — and the government acknowledged there were “supply constraints.”The government announced approximately 2.5 million chickens bred for their meat had been culled. The South African Poultry Association said another 5 million egg-laying chickens had been culled. The 7.5 million birds represente...

No Labels asks state Democratic chairs to back off after Biden said democracy allows for third party

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

A group laying the groundwork for a possible third-party presidential ticket is pleading with state Democratic Party officials not to interfere with its work after President Joe Biden said its leaders have a democratic right to create a new party.No Labels officials pointed to the president’s recent comments in an open letter sent Tuesday to state party chairs, framing their work as advancing the democratic principles that Biden has stood up for. They are angry that anti-No Labels talking points developed by the center-left group Third Way were distributed to state party leaders. “We urge you to tell your state and national leadership that you will not participate in actions that threaten the very principles of liberty and freedom that are the bedrock of our democracy,” wrote three No Labels leaders, which include former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and former head of the NAACP Benjamin Chavis Jr. “Please make it clear you’re committed to givi...

Man arrested for alleged impaired operation of boat in Port Perry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

A 29-year-old male has been arrested for alleged assault and impaired operation of a boat after an incident in Port Perry.On Sept. 30 at approximately 11:40 a.m., members of Durham police responded to an unknown trouble call in the area of Regional Road 21 and Highway 12 in Port Perry.A male was reportedly assaulting a female on the side of the road, and when police located the female and she was treated for minor injuries on scene.The male suspect fled prior to police arriving and was last seen at the Port Perry Marina.Durham police’s Marine Unit was called in and located the male operating a boat on Lake Scugog. The male was arrested without incident and his boat was towed back to the marina.A 29-year-old man of Toronto is charged with assault and failure/refusal to comply with breath demand. He was released on an undertaking.

Paul Harding and Justin Torres are among the National Book Award finalists

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Harding’s Maine-based historical novel “This Other Eden,” Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s dystopian “Chain-Gang All-Stars” and Justin Torres’ multi-generational “Blackouts” are among the fiction finalists for the National Book Awards. Fiction judges also selected Aaliyah Bilal’s debut story collection “Temple Folk” and Hanna Pylväinen’s “The End of Drum-Time,” set in 19th century Scandinavia. On Tuesday, the National Book Foundation announced finalists in four other competitive categories: nonfiction, poetry, translation and young people’s literature. The foundation, which presents the awards, released long lists of 10 last month. Winners will be announced at a dinner ceremony in Manhattan on Nov. 15, when poet Rita Dove and longtime City Lights bookseller Paul Yamazaki will receive honorary prizes, and Oprah Winfrey will be a featured speaker. Drew Barrymore had been chosen to host the evening but was dropped last month after she decide...

Jury selection begins in trial of fallen cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday in the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after a prosecutor revealed that no discussions about a potential plea agreement took place in the 10 months since the cryptocurrency executive was arrested and brought to the United States.Once a billionaire, the 31-year-old crypto mogul faces the possibility of a long prison term if convicted at a trial that is expected to last up to six weeks.Prosecutors say he defrauded thousands of people who deposited cryptocurrency on the FTX exchange by illegally diverting massive sums of their money for his personal use, including making risky trades at his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research. He’s also accused of using customer money to buy real estate and make big political contributions as he tried to influence government regulation of cryptocurrency.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who is overseeing the prosecution, has called it one of the biggest frauds in the country’s h...

Quebec author Kevin Lambert dropped from contention for French literary prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec author Kevin Lambert has been dropped from contention for the prestigious French Prix Goncourt.The Saguenay, Que., author didn’t make the cut when the literary prize’s selection committee narrowed its list of finalists from 16 to eight.Lambert’s novel “Que notre joie demeure” was named on Sept. 5 to the long list of nominees for the prize, which will be awarded in November.Published last year, the book includes detailed discussions on architecture, and centres on the excesses of the ruling class and gentrification in Montreal.According to numbers from book promotion group BTLF, sales nearly doubled in recent months after the novel sparked an online quarrel between the author and Quebec Premier François Legault.Legault published a short review praising the book on social media but was rebuked by Lambert, who accused the premier of failing to understand the novel’s message.Lambert found himself at the centre of a debate in France a...

Insurance regulator takes action against life insurance sales practices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

TORONTO — Ontario’s insurance regulator says it has taken enforcement action after finding widespread deficiencies related to the sale of life insurance products.The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario says it looked into the conduct of life insurance agents at companies that use a multi-level marketing model for recruitment and found “unacceptable” levels of non-compliance.The agency’s review of 130 agents found 50 per cent had practices that went against the Insurance Act, including failing to disclose conflicts of interest, misrepresentation to the regulator and gaps in training.FSRA says two agents surrendered their license after being told they were under review, while the agency took action against 65 agents. It also plans more enforcement, new rules and guidance and a whistleblower protection program to further crack down.The regulator has been looking for some time into issues around multi-level marketing sales models, especially their ...

A conversation with Chappell Roan, the yodeling, queer pop icon of tomorrow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the first few minutes on the phone with The Associated Press, Chappell Roan shared a revealing fact about herself. “I have a ‘princess’ tramp stamp, that was my first tattoo,” the 25-year-old pop singer laughed.“And it was kind of a ‘f—- you’ to my upbringing of very conservative, Christian, ‘modesty is hottest’ mentality,” she continued. “I feel like the pendulum has just swung so far because of how restricted I felt.”Roan’s glittery, innuendo-stuffed debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” was released Sept. 22. Born and raised in Missouri, Roan left the state for Hollywood not long after being discovered on YouTube by Atlantic Records. They dropped her in 2020, and she moved back home for a few months, where she considered leaving music all together. Eventually she returned to LA, Amusement/Island Records signed her in 2023, and the rest is history — in the making. With over a million monthly listeners on Spotify, a thriving...