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Blinken urges united future Palestinian government for Gaza and West Bank, widening gulf with Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Wednesday for a united and Palestinian-led government for Gaza and the West Bank after the war ends, as a step toward Palestinian statehood. That vision sharpens U.S. differences with ally Israel on what the future should look like for the Palestinian territories once Israel’s military campaign against Hamas winds down.Blinken’s outline of what Americans think should come next for Gaza also serves as a check on the postwar scenarios floated by officials of Israel’s hard-right government and its supporters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement Monday that Israel’s military would likely maintain security control of Gaza for an “indefinite period” appears to have heightened U.S. concerns.Any postwar governing plan for Gaza “must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” Blinken told reporters in Japan.He and other top ...

Suspect in custody in recent fatal stabbing of Detroit synagogue leader

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Police said a suspect was in custody Wednesday in the fatal stabbing of a Detroit synagogue leader whose recent death had raised questions about whether it was motivated by antisemitism.“It does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” police Chief James White said. “The details of the investigation will remain confidential at this time to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain.”Samantha Woll, 40, was president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue. She was found dead outside her Detroit home Oct. 21, hours after returning from a wedding, investigators said.No charges were announced Wednesday. White’s statement said police still were working with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.The chief repeatedly has said that Woll’s death doesn’t appear to be a result of antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.About 1,000 people attended Woll’s funeral Oct. 23. She had worked for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and on the political cam...

Massachusetts to begin denying shelter beds to homeless families, putting names on a waitlist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The number of homeless families seeking emergency shelter in Massachusetts is nearing a 7,500-family threshold, past which Democratic Gov. Maura Healey says the state can no longer accommodate them and will instead place families on a waitlist, prioritizing those with the highest needs.Healey has said she doesn’t want to see families out on the street but that the state has essentially reached its shelter capacity. The spike in demand is being driven in part by a surge of migrant families entering the state.Massachusetts joins other locales struggling under an influx of migrant families seeking shelter. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced he is limiting shelter stays for migrant families with children to 60 days. In Chicago, officials have looked to relocate migrants seeking asylum from police stations and the city’s airports to winterized camps with massive tents.On Wednesday, the number of families in emergency shelter in Massachusetts stood at 7,488.Critics...

Nashville DA seeks change after suspect released from jail is accused of shooting college student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville district attorney on Wednesday called for the Tennessee legislature to make it easier to commit someone to a mental institution after a man who was previously released for incompetence to stand trial was accused of shooting an 18-year-old college student in the head.Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig, of New Jersey, was walking on a track in a local park when she was shot and critically wounded at about 2:30 p.m., according to the Metro Nashville Police. They arrested 29-year-old Shaquille Taylor after surveillance video and witness statements pointed to him as the shooter. The investigation showed Taylor was shooting at a car while Ludwig was walking in a park on the opposite side of the street, according to police.A passerby discovered Ludwig on the ground at approximately 3:30 p.m. She was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she was listed in extremely critical condition, police said.Taylor is charged with aggrava...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman raises concerns about AI’s effect on future elections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

TORONTO — One of the most prominent figures in the world of artificial intelligence is concerned about the technology’s potential effects during election campaigns.Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, said he’s worried about how good at personalized persuasion the technology may become.“We also don’t know for sure how big of an impact that might have or not, but it’s an example of something new that I’m worried about because it’s very unknown,” Altman said in a virtual appearance Wednesday at a University of Waterloo technology conference hosted in Toronto.Altman’s company is best known for creating ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot capable of humanlike conversations and tasks launched last November. The company has continued to advance the technology, spurring a race to innovate in the AI space with companies including Google, Anthropic AI and Microsoft.Altman suggested such technology could help spread misinformation or aid in...

Ontario women charged in debit, credit card fraud stole victim’s wallet in Walmart: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

Two women from Ontario are facing fraud charges after a victim had her wallet stolen as she shopped at a Walmart in Ajax.Durham Regional Police officers responded to a theft at the Walmart located at 270 Kingston Road East on September 26, 2023. Police said a woman had her wallet stolen as she shopped, and her debit and credit cards were later used at various locations in Ajax and Toronto for fraudulent purchases. Related: Think scam calls are bad now? Experts warn growing use of AI will make problem worse Investigators tracked the purchases and identified two female suspects and a suspect vehicle. Both women were arrested at the scene.They were identified as 22-year-old Shayla Rogers and 47-year-old Samantha Stevens, both of Ajax. The women face combined charges including theft under $5,000, fraud under $5,000, and possessing property obtained by crime under $5,000. They were released on an undertaking.

Russia reportedly is using Ukrainian POWs to fight in their homeland on Moscow’s side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines of their homeland to fight on Moscow’s side in the war, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.The news agency said Tuesday the soldiers swore allegiance to Russia when they joined the battalion, which entered service last month.The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the report or videos released by the news agency, or whether the POWs were coerced into their actions. Both Ukrainian military and human rights officials as well as the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the AP.Experts say such actions would be an apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions relating to the treatment of POWs, which forbids them from being exposed to combat or from working in unhealthy or dangerous conditions — coerced or not.“Russian authorities might claim they are recruiting them on a voluntary basis but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a...

Saskatchewan radio talk show host stepping away from the microphone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

SASKATOON — A longtime radio host in Saskatchewan is stepping away from the microphone after 25 years. John Gormley announced today that his last day on air will be Nov. 24. Gormley, a lawyer and former federal member of Parliament, started his career in radio as a teenager.“The Gormley Show” began airing on Rawlco Radio’s two talk radio stations in 1998, and in the decades since has included interviews with prime ministers, premiers and celebrities. Gormley thanked listeners and said it was an honour to have shared time with them. The new host is set to be announced Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2023.The Canadian Press

Justice Department opens probe of police in small Mississippi city over alleged civil rights abuses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation Wednesday into alleged civil rights violations by police in a majority Black Mississippi city, stepping in following accusations that officers used excessive force and arrested people without justification.The federal probe will focus on numerous reports from residents of Lexington, a city of about 1,600 people some 65 miles (100 kilometers) north of the capital of Jackson. The lawsuit claimed officers targeted Black drivers with illegal roadblocks, retaliated against people for recording police activity, committed sexual assault and even made arrests of people for using profanity.Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, announced the investigation at a news conference. “Community members have offered troubling accounts of how these alleged practices have affected their lives, of injuries caused by gratuitous and excessive force, of alleged se...

NYC mayor retains lawyer in federal fundraising probe, but plays down concern

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing a room full of reporters for the first time since federal agents raided the home of his chief fundraiser, Mayor Eric Adams said he didn’t have anything to fear from the investigation, even as an attorney for his administration acknowledged being in contact with federal authorities.“It would really shock me if someone that was hired by my campaign did something that’s inappropriate,” Adams said, flanked by eight of his top deputies in City Hall. “Not only would it shock me, it would hurt me.”He then laughed off a question about whether he could personally face federal charges, while noting that he had hired a lawyer from the law firm WilmerHale to represent him.Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel at City Hall, confirmed the Adams administration was also in touch with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about the matter, though she declined to go into detail about their communications.A spokesperson for Adams’ campaign previously said they had not been contacted abo...