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Alex Murdaugh murder trial judge steps aside after Murdaugh asks for new trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The judge that presided over Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial has agreed to step aside as the former lawyer convicted of killing his wife and younger son requests a new trial, citing alleged jury tampering, the South Carolina Supreme Court said Thursday.But the justices refused a request from defense lawyers to remove Judge Clifton Newman from Murdaugh’s state trial on financial crime charges and to delay the trial, set to begin Nov. 27.Murdaugh is serving a life sentence without parole. A jury convicted him of two counts of murder in March after a sensational six-week trial during which prosecutors argued that he gunned his wife and son down because his life of power, privilege and prestige was falling apart.Months after his convictions, Murdaugh’s lawyers requested a new trial, saying several jurors whom they interviewed told them that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill tampered with the jury by suggesting Murdaugh was guilty, encouragi...

As Georgia looks to court-ordered redistricting, not only Republicans are in peril

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — It’s a pattern Southern states have repeated for decades: A federal court rules an electoral map illegally dilutes the power of Black voters and orders a new one.But with Georgia lawmakers scheduled to return Nov. 29 for a special session to debate new voting districts, some things are different.Unlike earlier decades, when Republicans avoided losses, some Georgia GOP lawmakers are now likely to walk the plank when new districts are drawn. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in October ordered Georgia to draw Black majorities in one additional congressional district, two additional state Senate districts, and five additional state House districts.A new Black-majority congressional district, combined with similar rulings in other Southern states, could help Democrats reclaim the U.S. House in 2024. New legislative districts could narrow Republican majorities in Georgia.But some Democrats could get thrown overboard too, as Republicans seek to comply with the court whi...

DNA testing, genetic investigations lead to identity of teen found dead near Detroit in 1996

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) — Nearly three decades after the body of a teenage girl was found in an alley in an enclave north of downtown Detroit, authorities have finally identified her.The break in the case came after a profile developed from DNA testing was uploaded into ancestry databases, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said Thursday in a news release.A tip developed this past summer through forensic genetic genealogy finally came up with a name for the 17-year-old who was found dead in Highland Park in May 1996: Mindy Clevidence.Officials had ruled her death a homicide. But all they had to go on was what she looked like and her clothing: a white T-shirt with yellow and black smiley faces, a white skirt, white socks, white gym shoes and a teddy bear watch. She was known simply as “Highland Park Jane Doe.” “Identifying Mindy is an early step in the process. Now it’s time to get justice for Mindy,” Highland Park Police Chief James McMahon said. “It’s been m...

Halifax security forum to include former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

HALIFAX — Leaders from democratic nations, including a former Israeli prime minister, are gathering Friday in Halifax for a three-day conference on global security.This year, the annual Halifax International Security Forum is focused on the Ukraine war, but the fighting between Israel and Hamas will likely come up when former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak participates in a discussion on Saturday with a PBS correspondent.As the delegates gather, bloody street battles continue to rage in the Gaza Strip, and Global Affairs estimates about 386 people with connections to Canada are still attempting to flee the Palestinian territory.Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking 240 others back into Gaza as hostages. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes and a ground offensive that the Hamas-run health authority says has resulted in more than 11,000 casualties.International pressure is increasing on Israel for a ceasefire, but Barak has sai...

While the suits are no longer super, swimming attire still has a big impact at the pool

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

Fifteen years ago, Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics wearing a high-tech swimsuit with a catchy name, the Speedo LZR Racer.The super suit era lasted just one more year, thwarted by a ludicrous assault on the record books. But it still matters what a swimmer is wearing.“It makes a huge difference,” said Abbey Weitzeil, a four-time Olympic medalist who is sponsored by Speedo. “Especially for the females. We have more coverage than the males. We want to take advantage of that.”With the Paris Olympics about eight months away, Speedo released its newest suits this week with updated versions of the Fastskin LZR Intent and LZR Valor. These sort of announcements no longer carry the fanfare that accompanied Phelps’ unveiling of the LZR Racer ahead of Beijing or the rubberized suits that dominated the 2009 world championships.But after 43 world records were set in Rome, the international governing body finally took some common-sense steps to eliminate...

Cold weather and rain is on the horizon after an unusually warm stretch in Toronto, GTA

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

Here’s to hoping you were able to enjoy the recent stretch of sweater weather felt throughout Toronto and much of southern Ontario this week, as that will be coming to an end for now.Sunshine and warmer temperatures will suddenly conclude, with 5 to 10 mm of rain on the way for Toronto and the GTA to end the week. While daytime temperatures should reach 13 C tomorrow, a drop of a few degrees will come on Saturday, with a forecasted high of 6 C that will feel more like 4 C.It will be even cooler on Sunday, with a daytime high of 6 C but feeling closer to 2 C. The start of next week could see a brisk day back to work and school, as Arctic air will lead to a forecasted high of 3 C, though it will feel like 1 C. Thankfully, after the wet weather on Friday, the next 72 hours will be mostly sunny.One more mild day with sunshine. Cool down begins tomorrow with periods of rain. Clear out again for the weekend but Highs near seasonal at 6 or7°C. How mild will it be today? Tune in h...

Ghana reparations summit calls for global fund to compensate Africans for slave trade

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Delegates at a reparations summit in Ghana agreed Thursday to establish a Global Reparation Fund to push for overdue compensation for millions of Africans enslaved centuries ago during the transatlantic slave trade.The Accra Reparation Conference adds to the growing demands for reparations after about 12 million Africans were forcefully taken by European nations from the 16th to the 19th century and enslaved on plantations that built wealth at the price of misery.Centuries after the end of the slave trade, people of African descent around the world continue “to be victims of systemic racial discrimination and racialized attacks,” concluded a recent report by a special U.N. forum which supported reparations as “a cornerstone of justice in the 21st century.”“It is time for Africa — whose sons and daughters had their freedoms controlled and sold into slavery — to also receive reparations,” said Ghana’s President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo at the conference, attended by se...

MLB cancels 2025 Paris games after failing to find promoter, AP sources say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

Major League Baseball has canceled plans to play regular-season games in Paris in 2025 after failing to find a promoter, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday.The people spoke on condition of anonymity following an owners’ meeting because the decision was not announced publicly.MLB and the players’ association agreed to the Paris games in their March 2022 labor deal and incorporated them as an attachment to the collective bargaining agreement. The people familiar with the decision said it became apparent in recent months that no progress was being made to make the games work financially.MLB played in London for the first time in 2019 when the New York Yankees swept two games from the Boston Red Sox at West Ham’s Olympic Stadium. A planned two-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in 2020 was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Cardinals and Cubs split a two-game series this past June. Th...

Steve Aoki builds a universe on ‘HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix.’ He also plans to go to the moon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the EDM DJ Steve Aoki, the next frontier is the final one. Last year, it was announced he was on the manifest for the dearMoon Project, the first planned civilian mission to the moon. A trip to outer space makes a lot of sense for the forward-thinking creator, who’s releasing “HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix” on Friday.The first installment of the conceptual series, 2022’s pop-punk-infused “HiROQUEST: Genesis,” introduced the protagonist Hiro, tasked with collecting magical rings to save the world. On “HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix,” his story continues, and a new antagonist is introduced. The project has a collectible card component, and Aoki is writing a graphic novel — slated for release early next year — to tie the albums’ narratives together.Beyond the lore, of course, are the songs. Sonically, “HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix” is a detour from the first release. “I’m inspired by the world around me, and the world around me has changed quite a lot. ‘HiROQUEST...

Stakes rise ahead of 2024 election in Michigan as House Democrat announces retirement

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:29 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s six-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee announced Thursday he will not seek reelection, opening another competitive Congressional seat in the battleground state.Kildee, who currently sits on the House Ways and Means committee, has represented the Flint area in Congress since 2013. He succeeded his uncle, Dale Kildee, who had served in Congress for 36 years. Earlier this year, the 65-year-old Kildee was diagnosed with a curable form of cancer that he has since had removed. He said the scare made him reassess his “future and path.”“After spending time with my wife, children and grandchildren and contemplating our future, the time has come for me to step back from public office,” Kildee said in a statement Thursday. The announcement forces Democrats to defend yet another open seat next year as they attempt to retake the U.S. House, where Republicans currently hold a five-seat majority. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin announced in February she would not ...