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Marker sought for Black teen imprisoned after 1882 rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Civil rights activists are seeking to draw attention to an 1882 rape that ended with the Black teenage victim dying in prison, her white attacker dead and three men lynched. Margaret Vinegar was just 14 when two family friends came across her being sexually assaulted under a downtown Lawrence bridge in Kansas and intervened. The body of her attacker, David Bausman, a farmer in his 40s, later was found in the Kansas River, the Lawrence Journal-World reports.Arrests ensued and a mob broke into the jail — hanging the two friends, Isaac King and George Robertson, as well as Margaret’s father, Pete Vinegar, who was not even in town the day it all happened.Margaret was later convicted of murder — tried on a story that she had enticed her attacker under the bridge so her friends could rob him, said Lawrence NAACP member Kerry Altenbernd, who added that some also accused her of prostitution.“That’s what she was tried on, not the truth, but that story,” Altenbernd said....

Don Lemon says he’s been ‘terminated’ by CNN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

U.S. broadcaster Don Lemon is out at CNN.In a statement posted to Twitter Monday, Lemon says he was “informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN.”“I am stunned,” the long-time CNN anchor wrote. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”Lemon suggests the news came out of left field, saying “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”“It is clear that there are some larger issues at play. With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best,” Lemon’s statement concluded.His time at CNN was not without controversy. The broadcaster was briefly removed from the air in February after questioning Republican ...

Stocks slip ahead of deluge of earnings, economic data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping Monday ahead of reports that could offer clues on questions that have kept Wall Street at a standstill, including on where the economy and corporate profits are heading. The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in midday trading after barely budging last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 54 points, or 0.2%, at 33,754, as of noon Eastern, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower. Coca-Cola was edging 0.1% higher after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected for the first three months of the year. It was the only company in the S&P 500 to report Monday morning, but more than 170 others are scheduled to follow it this week. The question is whether they can top the low bar that Wall Street has set for them, and what CEOs say about their prospects for profits later this year. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report a roughly 6% drop in earnings per share from a year earlier, which would be their worst showing since the spri...

UN: By month’s end, India population to be world’s largest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will be the world’s most populous country by the end of this month, eclipsing an aging China, the United Nations said Monday. The milestone raises questions about whether India can repeat the economic success that has made China central to the world’s economy and a leading global power.The news comes at a moment when India is promoting itself as a rising international player as the host of this year’s G20 Summit. It’s also becoming a more attractive destination for multinational companies seeking to reduce their reliance on China. By the end of April, India’s population is expected to reach 1.425 billion, which means it will match and then surpass mainland China’s, the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in a press release. The forecast is based on their latest estimates of global population. It’s not clear exactly when India’s population will pass China’s. It may have already have done so. Demographers say the limits of pop...

Airlines ‘left government no choice’ but to beef up passenger rights: Minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

MONTREAL — Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says airlines’ use of loopholes around traveller compensation “left government no choice” but to strengthen passenger rights rules.Amid a massive complaints backlog, Alghabra said Monday the COVID-19 pandemic and travel chaos over the past year exposed gaps in the Liberals’ passenger rights charter. Carriers frequently cited safety as the reason for last-minute cancellations and delays, relieving them of their obligation to pay compensation to customers, he said.At a news conference in Ottawa, the federal minister laid out reforms that put the onus on airlines to show a flight disruption is caused by safety concerns or reasons outside their control.“This means there will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control for a security reason when it’s not. And it will no longer be the passenger who will have to prove that he or she is entitled to c...

How Canada is trying to rein in Big Tech as data becomes more powerful

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

TORONTO — Whether you’re catching a flight, opening a new bank account or picking up groceries, a small group of big names takes up most of the market share. Competition Ltd. is a Canadian Press series that explores what this means for products — and prices — in the country.———It’s been 20 years since Marc Poirier co-founded search management platform Acquisio, but he’s never forgotten how Google kick-started its decline.It was 2015. The tech giant had just reorganized its subsidiaries under the Alphabet banner and was evaluating whether recent forays into riskier ventures like self-driving cars, internet-beaming balloons and smart city infrastructure could replicate the success of its search engine business. As advertising revenues and growth slowed, the company felt pressure to boost profits, leaving Marc Poirier’s Brossard, Que., company caught up in a no-win scenario.“I experienced first-hand Google going from partner to fierce competitor,” said Poirier. “They ...

House suspends after bill that recognizes Canadian artists fails to get a sponsor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The House of Commons took an unplanned break this morning after no member of Parliament came forward to sponsor the legislation it was set to debate.The House was scheduled to tackle a bill that would recognize the critical role artists and the arts play in every dimension of Canadian life.The bill was introduced in the Senate by Manitoba Sen. Patricia Bovey, and it was supposed to be sponsored in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Jim Carr.But Carr died in December and no MP had been found to take his place on the legislation before it came up on the House schedule this morning.Speaker Anthony Rota was forced to suspend the proceedings for an hour until MPs were ready to take up the next item on the agenda.A spokesperson for government House leader Mark Holland says it’s up to MPs themselves to come forward to sponsor a non-government bill, and the government has no role in determining who sponsors them.  This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24...

Kelly vetoes bill to cut Kansas taxes $1.4B over 3 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vetoed a bill that would have cut taxes in Kansas by nearly $1.4 billion over the next three years, objecting to a proposal included by conservative Republicans to impose a single-rate “flat” income tax for individuals.Kelly said abandoning the state’s current, three-rate individual income tax with higher rates for higher earners would have been fiscally “reckless” and threatened funding for public schools. She announced her veto at a Topeka-area elementary school and recalled the state’s nationally notorious 2012-13 experiment in slashing income taxes and the huge budget shortfalls that followed under then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.Republican leaders plan to attempt overriding Kelly’s veto once the full GOP-controlled Legislature reconvenes Wednesday to wrap up its business for the year. Backers of the bill included Americans for Prosperity, the grassroots low-tax, small-government group funded by the b...

When do kids ride for free on the Metra?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

CHICAGO — Metra announced that kids will be riding for free on 'Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day' on Thursday. Metra is celebrating by allowing people who are 18-year-old and younger ride the train for free, accompanied by an adult. Every adult who purchases a ticket can bring up to three children for free. Robin’s List: Movies you thought were great as a kid that are actually awful Metra says the theme for 2023's 'Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day' is "Working Better Together," to encourage children to learn about becoming a part of s workplace team. "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" is Thursday, April 27. For more information on the event, visit: Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work – Just another WordPress site

Dad, 10-year-old daughter drown after being swept away at Florida beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:59 GMT

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A man and his 10-year-old daughter died after being swept offshore at a Florida beach on Sunday evening, officials said.Detectives said Michael Stephens, 42, was in the water with his daughters Isabella, 10, and Brittany Stephens, 20, and Brittany's boyfriend, 20-year-old Jessie Johnson, when they noticed a strengthening rip current.According to deputies, Johnson and Brittany Stephens managed to get out, but when Johnson went back to get Michael Stephens and Isabella, they were already too far from the shore. Tucker Carlson and Fox News part ways While Johnson tried to save the father and daughter, Michael's 13-year-old daughter, Trinity Stephens, called 911 and gave the phone to a bystander for help.A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office air unit spotted Michael and Isabella Stephens about half a mile from the shore, and a marine unit was able to get them out of the water.Veronica Meek, a witness visiting from Colorado, described what she saw when t...