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Appeals court allows Alex Murdaugh to argue for new trial because of possible jury tampering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

By JEFFREY COLLINS (Associated Press)COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An appeals court in South Carolina is allowing Alex Murdaugh to ask a judge to throw out his murder convictions and life sentence and get a new trial after his lawyers accused the court clerk in his trial of influencing the jury.The one-paragraph decision Tuesday likely opens the door for a full hearing where witnesses who would have to testify under oath could include Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, the jurors who deliberated a few hours after the six-week trial and even Judge Clifton Newman, widely praised for overseeing the case.A time and place or the scope of the hearing will be determined later.But even if his conviction is overturned, Murdaugh won’t walk out of prison. He pleaded guilty last month to financial crimes for stealing millions of dollars from needy personal injury clients and a settlement for the family of his longtime maid who died in a fall at his home.Murdaugh is awaiting a jud...

Hundreds killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City hospital, Health Ministry says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMYA KULLAB, RAVI NESSMAN and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.Photos from al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area. The ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said there were still no details on the hospital deaths: “We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.”In...

NCAA president shifts focus to employment status of college athletes during Senate hearing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Football Writer)At a Senate hearing Tuesday, NCAA President Charlie Baker shifted the focus of college sports’ needs toward the looming possibility of athltes being deemed employees of their schools and away from federal legislation to regulate how they can be compensated for their fame. Baker, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick were among the witnesses appearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee, the 10th hearing on college sports to be held on Capitol Hill since 2020.Also appearing were former Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas; Walker Jones, who runs the booster-funded collective that supports University of Mississippi athletes; St. Joseph’s athletic director Jill Bodensteiner; and Ramogi Huma, a longtime advocate for college athletes.Baker said in his opening statement that college sports are “overdue for change.”“But I am proud to say we are doing something about th...

Live updates | Jordan appears on brink of defeat in first round of voting for House speaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House of Representatives is voting on Jim Jordan’s nomination for speaker two weeks after the chamber ousted Kevin McCarthy from the top spot.Jordan has been scrambling to shore up the votes needed to clinch the speakership in the closely divided chamber. He can only lose a few GOP votes to win the nod.Jim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallSpeaker McCarthy ousted in historic House voteJordan appears to be talking to some Republicans about switching their vote after he appears to come up short on the first round.Twenty Republicans have voted against Jordan, an outcome way worse than his allies were hoping for. For his part, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is smiling and joking with colleagues as he no longer bears the weight of cajoling...

Ottawa resident tells convoy organizers’ trial he felt ‘threatened’ during protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

Ottawa resident Paul Jorgenson felt “threatened” during “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations in winter 2022, he said in testimony today at the criminal trial of two protest organizers. Five residents who have appeared as witnesses in the trial described a scene of overwhelming noise from truck horns and engines, and the persistent smell of diesel fumes during the protest in their testimony. Jorgenson said that noise and odour emitted from idling vehicles caused him to be unable to work from his downtown home, so he left the city for more than a week. He said that trucks were blocking the entrance to his parking garage, so he needed to drive up onto the curb in order to leave. When he returned, he said, the protest was still underway and he had trouble accessing food from grocery stores and restaurants in the downtown area.Jorgenson said he later felt compelled to help counter-protesters block convoy-related traffic from passing by near the Canadian Museum of Natur...

Broken rail caused Colorado train derailment that collapsed bridge, preliminary findings show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

A broken rail caused a train derailment that collapsed a bridge over a Colorado highway, killing a truck driver and blocking the road for days, federal authorities said Tuesday, based on their preliminary investigation.The steel bridge built in 1958 collapsed Sunday when 30 cars from a BNSF train hauling coal derailed while crossing over Interstate 25 north of Pueblo.The 60-year-old driver of a semitrailer truck that was passing beneath the bridge was killed.I-25 is the main north-south route through Colorado. It’s expected to remain closed for several more days as crews clear piles of coal and other debris from the site.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.The main north-south highway in Colorado is expected to remain closed for several more days as crews clear piles of coal and other debris after a weekend train derailment and bridge collapse, authorities said Tuesday.Federal investigators approved cleanup work after largely completing their evidence co...

3 face federal charges in bizarre South Florida kidnapping plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two brothers and another man are facing federal charges following a kidnapping that took some bizarre twists, including an attempted waterboarding when they tried to make the victim help them lure the intended target, federal officials said Tuesday.The suspects kidnapped the man at gunpoint outside his apartment in Plantation, Florida, on Oct. 13, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. They tossed his cellphone out of the car as they drove to a home, where they took him inside.Eventually, they learned they had the wrong person, mistaking him for his coworker, who was the intended target. He told police the men threatened him, put an electric drill to his skin and pointed a firearm at him, before dousing him with water in what prosecutors said was a simulated waterboarding. The victim told them he thought he was going to drown.The men began brainstorming how the victim could help lure the coworker to them, authorities said. They provide...

Banking regulator’s proposals on mortgage rules lack stakeholder support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

TORONTO — Mortgage strategist Robert McLister says the real estate industry is likely breathing a sigh of relief after Canada’s banking regulator signalled it might not move ahead with some proposed tightening of its mortgage lending rules.The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions floated the proposals in January as part of its wide-ranging review of the B-20 mortgage underwriting rules.It included potential additional conditions for a stress test, where would-be borrowers must prove they could continue to make mortgage payments at a higher interest rate.It says stakeholders were generally not supportive of additional debt service measures and raised concerns about the disproportionate impact that new industry-wide measures could have on smaller lenders.McLister agrees with concerns that tougher loan-to-income restrictions could scale back lending.He says flexibility for lenders can be better maintained if the regulator does not institute defined debt ratio li...

War between Israel and Hamas raises fears about rising US hostility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

A fatal stabbing in Illinois, a gun pointed at protesters in Pennsylvania, vandalism at synagogues and harassment of staff at a Palestinian restaurant all are raising fears that the war between Israel and Hamas is sparking violence in the United States.The tensions follow a familiar pattern of crimes against Jewish and Muslim communities rising when conflict erupts in the Middle East and Americans have been killed or taken hostage.“We have a two pronged threat to American faith communities,” said Brian Levin, founding director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernadino.While its too soon to say with certainty whether anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish crimes have increased during the war, hate crimes overall increased in the U.S. last year. In its annual report released Monday, the FBI estimated that hate crimes increased by 7% to 11,634 cases in 2022 compared to the previous year. With 1,124 incidents, anti-Jewish attacks were the secon...

Illinois boy killed in alleged hate crime remembered as kind, playful as suspect appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — A 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy who authorities allege was stabbed 26 times by his landlord in response to escalating right-wing rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war was being remembered as a kind child while multiple authorities investigate the attack that has become a symbol of larger struggles with hate crime in the U.S.Crowds of mourners in the heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, paid respects Monday as Wadea Al-Fayoume was buried. His mother, who was also critically injured in the attack that led to condemnation from local elected officials to the White House, remained hospitalized. A Tuesday evening vigil was planned at a community center in a nearby suburb. During funeral services, family and friends remembered Wadea as an energetic boy who loved playing games. The child, who recently celebrated a birthday, was also seen as another innocent casualty in the escalating war.“Wadea is a child and he is not the only one under attack,” said M...