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Former Detroit-area officer indicted on civil rights crime for punching Black man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — A grand jury returned an indictment against a former suburban Detroit police officer who is accused of a federal civil rights crime for punching a young Black man in the face and slamming his head to the ground.The two-count indictment filed Thursday against Matthew Rodriguez will take the place of a federal criminal complaint filed in July.Video released by the Warren Police Department shows Rodriguez processing a 19-year-old man at the city police station in June when he punches Jaquwan Smith, knocks him to the floor and slams his head.Rodriguez was fired on June 23 and charged with two misdemeanors in state court.Besides the civil rights crime, Rodriguez faces a federal charge of falsifying records about the incident.A message seeking comment from his attorney wasn’t immediately returned Friday.“The conduct that is alleged here, a blatant and shocking violation of the victim’s rights, and then an effort by the former officer to lie about that, can...

Maine mass shooter was alive for most of massive 2-day search, autopsy suggests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Army reservist who opened fire inside at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston before disappearing into the night was alive and possibly on the run during a good portion of the massive search that forced shelter-in-place orders across the community, according to the Maine medical examiner’s office.Robert Card died from a self-inflicted gunshot that “likely” happened eight to 12 hours before the discovery of his body, based on a time-of-death analysis. That conclusion was announced Friday, a week after his body was discovered in the back of a tractor-trailer on property of a former employer, a recycling center.In the wake of the Oct. 25 shootings, which killed 18 people and wounded 13 more, tens of thousands of area residents sheltered at home behind locked doors as hundreds of law enforcement officers scoured the area looking for Card. He fled in a vehicle that was later found abandoned on a waterfront in a nearby town.Law enforcement agencies came under s...

Air Canada admits it violated disability regulations in case of B.C. man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

VANCOUVER — Air Canada has acknowledged it violated Canadian disability regulations and apologized to a British Columbia man who uses a wheelchair, after he was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.Prince George resident Rodney Hodgins says he used the strength of his upper body to pull himself down the airplane aisle in August, while his wife, Deanna, held his legs, after no one from the airline’s third-party ground personnel was available to help.The case has garnered national and international attention, with the federal minister of transport saying in the House of Commons this week that he was “horrified” with how Hodgins was treated.Beenish Awan, a special assistance representative with Air Canada, sent a letter to Deanna Hodgins this week saying the incident was a “was a very inconvenient and humiliating experience for both of you.”Awan says based on the information currently available, the airline has to “regrettably...

Men charged in Brampton hotel parking lot car thefts, stolen SUVs valued at over $900K

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

Two men, including one from Montreal, have been charged for allegedly carrying out car thefts from hotel parking lots in Brampton and targeting American-made SUVs valued at over $900,000.Police said investigators were in the area of Queen Street East and Gateway Drive on October 27 when they located the two suspects responsible for the vehicle thefts. The suspects were arrested, and police said officers seized a loaded 9 mm Ruger pistol. The two men were identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Khlass of Montreal and 21-year-old Tajinder Dhillon of Brampton. Related: ‘We don’t feel safe’: Brampton residents terrified after string of break and enters caught on camera Charges against Khlass and Dhillon include firearms-related offences, 13 counts of possessing an automobile master key and nine counts of theft of a motor vehicle, among others. Police said the nine counts against each man relate to the theft of nine newer model American-made SUVs valued at a...

2 teens plead not guilty in fatal shooting of Montana college football player

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Two teenagers were charged as adults after investigators say they drove after a Rocky Mountain College student-athlete who was killed last week by a bullet that went through his driver’s side window near campus.A 16-year-old male was charged Friday with deliberate homicide in the Oct. 28 shooting of Chandler Stalcup, 18, of Crystal River, Florida. Stalcup was a freshman on the NAIA school’s football team. A 17-year-old male was charged with deliberate homicide by accountability as the driver of the car, authorities said. The teens pleaded not guilty during their arraignment hearings on Friday. The Associated Press is not identifying the defendants because they are minors. Their cases have been assigned to the Office of Public Defender, but specific attorneys have not been assigned, court officials said. Public defender Meagan Bailey appeared in court with the defendants on Friday. The public defender’s office declined to comment on the case.Bail is...

Honduras recalls ambassador to Israel as it condemns civilian Palestinian toll in war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras on Friday became the latest Latin American country to recall its ambassador to Israel for consultations as it condemned what it called genocide and other serious violations of international law in the Gaza Strip.The Central American country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on X, formerly Twitter, that President Xiomara Castro had decided to immediately recall the ambassador in light of “the serious humanitarian situation the civilian Palestinian population is suffering in the Gaza Strip.”Honduras is the latest leftist-led Latin American government to take diplomatic steps to express its disapproval of Israel’s expanded offensive.Bolivia’s government severed diplomatic relations with Israel on Tuesday, accusing it of carrying out “crimes against humanity” in Gaza. Chile and Colombia also recalled their own ambassadors to Israel as they criticized the Israeli offensive against Hamas militants.The Palestinian death toll i...

Mayor Johnson vows urgency addressing migrant crisis, dodges questions about chaos at City Hall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday was once again pressed about the city's ongoing migrant housing issue.Since August 2022, the city has received more than 20,000 new arrivals. As the city enters its coldest months, many remain out in the cold."Winter is coming. Everyone knows that," Johnson said. "The weather has been somewhat patient with us. But that’s not going to last. We have to move with the type of urgency that is required at this moment." Brighton Park residents file lawsuit against city, mayor over proposed migrant camp site As of Friday morning, more than 2,700 migrants await placement at police stations. At O'Hare, 503 people seek homes. At Midway, one lone shelter seeker remains."My concern is the fact that we have pregnant women who are sleeping outside...we have children laying on floors," Johnson said. "We have political dynamics that have forced the type of massive population shift that has had a tremendous impact on our local economy. Of cours...

White Sox decline team option on Liam Hendriks' contract

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox have declined their team option on Liam Hendriks' contract, making him a free agent, according to a press release from the team Friday.The New York Posts' Jon Heyman tweeted Friday that the White Sox declined Hendriks' $15 million option, but contractual obligations will still pay him the $15 million, it will just be deferred over time.According to 670 The Score's Bruce Levine, the exit option will pay Hendriks $1.5 million each year for the next ten years.The decision comes less than 24 hours after Hendriks was voted American League (AL) Comeback Player of the Year by a panel of his peers through the Major League Baseball Players' Association. Liam Hendriks wins AL Comeback Player of the Year Hendriks posted a 2-0 record with a save and 5.40 ERA across five games pitched last year before being shutdown for the year to have replacement surgery on the UCL in his throwing arm.In two-plus seasons with the South Siders, Hendriks posted a 14-7 record wit...

Skilling: Showers expected for Chicagoland Friday night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

It's been another mild day—in fact, the first day of the past 7 to produce an ABOVE AVERAGE DAYTIME TEMP in Chicago.--High temps have hit 58-deg at the airports—a reading 3-deg above normal.The opening three days of November have been quite cool—especially in comparison to last year. When today's temps are factored in, Nov 1-3, 2023 will have averaged 3.7-deg below normal---a full 15-deg colder than the opening three days of November a year ago—The HIGH TEMP ON NOV 3rd a year ago was 73-deg----15 deg warmer than today.Extensive cloudiness and a broad area of light rain and sprinkles is making its way across northern Illinois ahead of a wind-shifting cold front which will pass the Chicago area later tonight. Winds at that time will shift from the north/northeast by morning—and continue through the first day of the weekend.This will introduce modestly cooler air with highs Saturday holding to 55 inland and to the low 50s along Lake Michigan.But the brief period of north/northeast wind...

Despite global uncertainties, Obama argues case for hope at Democracy Forum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were back in Chicago on Friday to head up this year's Democracy Forum at McCormack Place.The discussion takes place on the 15th anniversary of Obama’s first presidential election.No longer in the White House, the 44th President of the United States continues to look for other ways to make an impact. The forum is an effort, in part, to foster new leadership, especially among young people — and strengthen democracy.  President Biden to visit Illinois next week Friday's event comes at a precarious moment in history as authoritarian leaders around the world seek to destroy democracy. In the US, polarized political parties refuse to compromise, most would agree, paralyzed by dysfunction and negativity. Despite the fear and uncertainty, Obama argues there’s still a case for hope. "It is hard to feel hopeful. The images of families mourning, of bodies being pulled from rubble, force a moral reckoning on all of us," Oba...