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UN expert: Iran is unlawfully detaining human rights activists, including new Nobel peace laureate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran is cracking down on protesters, unlawfully detaining human rights activists, including new Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, and carrying out an “alarming” number of executions, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the Islamic Republic said in a report circulated Friday.The wide-ranging report by Javaid Rehman, covering the period from October 2022 through July, was written before the announcement early Friday that the Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to Mohammadi, a longtime campaigner for women’s rights even from her current cell in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.Rehman, a Pakistani-born professor of international human rights law at Brunel University in London, singled out Mohammadi among lawyers and human rights defenders imprisoned for their work in the report to the General Assembly.He was highly critical of the “excessive and lethal use of force” unleashed by Iranian authorities in reaction to nationwide protests followi...

NJ attorney general looking into 2018 investigation of crash involving Nadine Menendez

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

The New Jersey attorney general’s office has opened an inquiry into how local law enforcement handled an investigation into a fatal car crash that involved the then-future wife of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the review.Nadine Menendez had been dating the New Jersey Democrat for just under a year when she hit a man with her car on Dec. 12, 2018, in the town of Bogota. Richard Koop, 49, died almost instantly when he was hit while crossing the street in the dark near his home.Menendez, then known by her maiden name Nadine Arslanian, wasn’t tested for drugs or alcohol at the scene and Bogota police quickly concluded she wasn’t at fault and allowed her to leave the scene.She told police the man had run across the street in front of her car and she didn’t see him until he hit her windshield. Police said Koop was wearing a dark-colored jacket, wasn’t in a crosswalk, and been drinking at a tavern before the crash.T...

Virginia family sues school system for $30 million over student’s sexual assault in bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A teenager and her parents have filed a $30 million lawsuit against a northern Virginia school system, saying the district failed to adequately investigate and tried to cover up her sexual assault by a male student in a high school bathroom. The details of the 2021 assault — the attacker was wearing a skirt in a women’s bathroom — made it a flashpoint in the national debate over allowing transgender students to use bathrooms, play sports and go by names and gender pronouns that reflect their gender identity. Still, the assaults appear to have little to do with the attacker’s gender identity, according to documents filed with the family’s lawsuit. Teachers say he preferred and requested male pronouns, according to a report by a law firm that investigated the assault.The sexual assault in May was one of two committed by the same student in the school system. The second occurred at another high school in October 2021. The attacker, who was 15 at the time, h...

Officials search for answers in fatal shooting of Black Alabama homeowner by police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — City and state officials asked for patience Friday in the investigation of the fatal police shooting of a Black man at his Alabama home, a day after hundreds mourned him at a vigil.Steve Perkins, 39, was shot and killed by police Sept. 29 at his home in Decatur in what police said began in a confrontation with a tow truck driver trying to repossess a truck. Decatur police in their initial statement about the shooting said officers accompanied the driver back to the home and shot Perkins after he “turned the gun toward one of the officers.” The state law enforcement agency said Perkins had a gun with a light on it. Family members have questioned the police account. In home surveillance camera footage published by WAFF, all is quiet until an officer is heard shouting “police, get on the ground.” Shots are then immediately heard being fired in rapid succession. The family said in a statement that the truck was not in repossession, and that Perkins was shot se...

Media can’t wait for ‘perfect’ solution, says St-Onge as Google demands overhaul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

TORONTO — The Canadian media landscape is changing too quickly to wait for a perfect version of the Online News Act, federal Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said Friday, while Google once again threatened to remove news links from its ubiquitous search engine over what the company considers serious flaws.“We need to put our foot in the door and start doing it,” St-Onge said Friday of the Liberal government’s new legislation, previously known in Parliament as Bill C-18, that would require tech giants to compensate media for news articles.“Even though it’s not perfect, even though some are not pleased with what we’re doing, but this new challenge is coming so fast that we need to address it as quickly as possible,” she said while speaking at the MINDS international news agency conference in Toronto.St-Onge said that part of the challenge is that the government waited too long to regulate digital platforms, so it’s starting with this law and expect...

ACLU sues a Tennessee city over an anti-drag ordinance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against a Tennessee city that passed an ordinance designed to ban drag performances from taking place on public property.The legal challenge is the latest development in the ongoing political battle over LGBTQ+ rights inside Tennessee, where the state’s conservative leaders have sought to limit events where drag performers may appear, restrict classroom conversations about gender and sexuality, and ban gender-affirming care. Friday’s latest lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and has previously hosted a Pride event in Murfreesboro — located about 34 miles (55 kilometers) south of Nashville — since 2016. However, according to the 67-page complaint, the organization has faced recent opposition from Murfreesboro leaders after conservative activists alleged that drag performances that took place duri...

Chicago man arrested in connection with deadly beating of 53-year-old woman in West Pullman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been arrested in connection with the beating death of a woman in the city's West Pullman neighborhood in late September, according to police.Chicago police said Jermaine Phelps, a 22-year-old man from the city's Southwest Side, was arrested by officers in Chicago Lawn on Thursday.According to police, Phelps is accused of fatally beating a 53-year-old woman in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Downers Grove man accused of secretly recording videos of 2 women, 13-year-old girl Police said Phelps has been charged with one count of murder in the first degree.Authorities have not yet identified the victim killed and what led to the deadly beating.Phelps is set to appear in court for a detention hearing on Friday, Oct. 6.

Search underway for 36-year-old man missing from Bronzeville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway on a Friday for a man missing from Bronzeville, according to Chicago police. Officers said they are searching for 36-year-old Andre Cheaton, who was last seen by family members on Sunday, Sept. 17.According to police, Cheaton is known to frequent the Downtown Chicago area. Downers Grove man accused of secretly recording videos of 2 women, 13-year-old girl Officers said Cheaton, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs around 170 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. Police said it is not clear what Cheaton was wearing at the time of his disappearance. Chicago police notified the public about Cheaton’s disappearance in a news release on Friday morning.   Chicago man arrested in connection with deadly beating of 53-year-old woman in West Pullman Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 36-year-old Andre Cheaton is asked to call CPD Area One SVU Detectives at 312-747-8380.Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

Why the NFL cares about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

Eager as the National Football League has been to cater to the recent public fixation with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it’s certainly not taking any credit for creating the outsized storyline that has emerged around the pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end.“Not orchestrated by the NFL,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy assured The Associated Press with a chuckle during a chat on the phone about what is becoming known as “ Tay Tay and Trav,” a topic few seemed to be able to get enough of initially, whether football diehards or Swifties, whether via TV or TikTok. There’s a conspiracy theory about Taylor Swift attending the Jets game The protagonists largely have remained mum about their actual status since Swift began attending Kelce’s games 1½ weeks ago, though Kelce did admit after practice Friday in Kansas City that “everybody is having fun with it.”“You've got a lot of people that care about Taylor and for good reason," he said, without getting into the details o...

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce opens up about Taylor Swift, getting older

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:32 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — It's been a whirlwind 2023 for Travis Kelce. After the Kansas City Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in four years that featured the Kelce family in the lead-up, Travis spent almost the entire offseason building his brand. That included a lot of commercials and attention with his brother Jason and his mom Donna, his own "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig, and a Vanity Fair profile that explained how he's setting himself up for life after football. His offseason also featured a seemingly failed attempt at courting pop star Taylor Swift at her The Eras Tour show. Travis Kelce responds to Aaron Rodgers ‘Mr. Pfizer’ comments That attempt turned out to not be a failure since she returned to Arrowhead Stadium for a Chiefs win against the Chicago Bears after headlining two sold-out concert dates in July. The duo were even seen walking out together after the game, and reports of their Sunday night in Kansas City ruled headlines afterward. Then Swift showed up fo...