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New Mexico passes bill to safeguard abortion providers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico legislators raced against the clock Friday to advance hard-fought proposals to safeguard abortion access, deliver tax relief and limit access to guns in the final hours of a 60-day legislative session.Republicans in the legislative minority raised a series of objections during a House floor debate to a bill that aims to protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state interference, prosecution or extradition attempts. In a victory for abortion rights advocates in New Mexico and states where the procedure is banned, the House secured final passage of that bill, in a 38-30 vote with Republicans and some Democrats in opposition. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign it. The governor already signed a law to block local abortion-ban ordinances.Legislators have until noon on Saturday to send bills to the governor for consideration.The Democrat-led Legislature passed bills in the final days of the session that would boost pay f...

Officials discussing security in case of Trump indictment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that former President Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks and appear in a Manhattan courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with him, four law enforcement officials said Friday.There has been no public announcement of any timeframe for the grand jury’s secret work, including any potential vote on whether to indict the ex-president. The law enforcement officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said authorities are just preparing in case of an indictment. They described the conversations as preliminary and are considering security, planning and the practicalities of a potential court appearance by a former president. The Manhattan district attorney’s office and Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, had no comment. A message was...

Former Air Force officer gets prison term for Capitol attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison.Larry Brock, 55, of Grapevine, Texas, joined other rioters on the Senate floor only minutes after then-Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber to escape the mob attacking the building on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. District Judge John Bates also sentenced Brock to two years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. Brock, who declined to speak in court before the judge imposed his sentence, remains free until he must report to prison at a date to be determined.Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.Bates convicted Brock in November after a trial without a jury. Brock waived his right to a jury trial.The judge said Brock expressed ̶...

Edmonton teen suspect in officers’ deaths was known to police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

Edmonton police say the teenager who allegedly shot and killed two officers Thursday morning was previously known to police, though he was never charged with a crime.The Edmonton Police Service says the 16-year-old suspect was known in a non-criminal nature and did not have a criminal record.Police say one of the previous incidents involving the suspect was categorized as a mental-health complaint, confirming EPS officers had previously attended the address.Edmonton police provided the new details Friday afternoon in the investigation into the deaths of Constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan.Around 12:47 a.m. Thursday, police say Jordan and Ryan responded to a family dispute call at an apartment complex near 114 Avenue and 132 Street.Const. Brett Ryan (left) and Const. Travis Jordan (right). (Photos Courtesy: Edmonton Police Service)Police say the 55-year-old mother placed the call to police because of difficulties with her son. The call reportedly did not contain any information a...

Dems say some foreign gifts to Trump remain unaccounted for

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s White House has failed to report more than 100 gifts from foreign nations worth more than a quarter-million dollars, and federal officials have been unable to find a life-size painting of Trump given by the president of El Salvador as well as golf clubs from the prime minister of Japan, according to a report Friday from House Democrats.Among the unreported items are 16 gifts from Saudi Arabia worth more than $45,000 in all, including a dagger valued at up to $24,000, and 17 presents from India that include expensive cufflinks, a vase and a $4,600 model of the Taj Mahal, says the report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.Gifts above several hundred dollars that foreign officials give to the president, vice president and their families are required under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act to be reported to the State Department. The report from House Democrats, citing State Department records, says the number of gifts reported by T...

New Arizona hotline sees few calls about race-based lessons

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Only a handful of complaints out of hundreds of calls to a new state hotline for reporting race-based lessons have warranted investigation, Arizona’s top education official said Friday. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told radio station KTAR News that the Arizona Department of Education found half a dozen complaints to be credible.“The majority at this point are prank calls,” Horne said. “But we’re not going to be dissuaded by that. We’re just going to ignore them.”The Arizona Empower Hotline has been in operation since March 7. It was set up specifically for allegations of teachers teaching so-called critical race theory or any lessons that evoke race and ethnicity. State education officials say the hotline so far has received 2,000 emails and 600 calls and voicemails. There has been a social media campaign to flood the tip line with either prank calls or messages praising teachers.Many education groups have accused Horne of politicizing their jo...

Three dead in apparent stabbings inside Montreal residence, police arrest suspect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

MONTREAL — A large police investigation was underway on Friday after three people were found stabbed to death inside an east-end Montreal residence. A suspect was taken into custody outside the home and was expected to be questioned by investigators.Orange police tape barricaded a block of Bélanger Street, which features low-rise residential buildings on one side, and the Montreal Heart Institute on the other.Montreal police Const. Julien Lévesque said a 911 call was received at about 9:20 a.m. for a person in need of help. Officers found three bodies inside bearing marks of violence that appeared to be from a sharp object, he said.The police service was calling the three deaths “suspicious.” Lévesque said it was too early release details about the link between the victims and the suspect. The major crimes division is leading the investigation into the crash, he said.An ambulance with lights flashing remained on scene on Friday morning, along with a police mobile command...

Washington turns to Wall Street to help rescue dying bank

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

NEW YORK — The scene was reminiscent of the last financial crisis, nearly 15 years ago: Faced with a blossoming emergency in the banking sector, worried regulators and policymakers in Washington turned to Wall Street for help.The anxiety this week centered on First Republic Bank in San Francisco, which was once the envy of the banking sector, with its wealthy and well-traveled clientele. Now the bank was reeling after some of those customers withdrew billions of dollars.As early as Tuesday, it became clear to policymakers that First Republic needed to be rescued or it could fail, two people briefed on the matter told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss details.The result was a swift agreement among the nation’s leading banks to lay aside competitive instincts to come to First Republic’s aid. With Washington greasing the wheels, a coalition of lenders put $30 billion in uninsured deposits into the California-based bank as...

‘I’M BACK!’: Trump returns to Facebook after reinstatement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook after a more than two-year ban.“I’M BACK!” Trump posted on the site weeks after his personal account was reactivated. He also shared an old video clip in which he said: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business.”Trump posted the same clip on YouTube, which announced Friday that it, too, was welcoming him back.Facebook parent Meta had said in January that it would be restoring Trump ’s personal account in the coming weeks, ending the suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, when Trump’s supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the peaceful transition of power.His access was restored to Facebook and Instagram on Feb. 9, the company confirmed.“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice president of global affairs, wrote ...

Illinois bill would allow residents to carry digital driver's license

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:42 GMT

CHICAGO -- Illinois drivers may soon not have to carry their physical driver's license with them on the road.House Bill 1110, introduced by Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) on Jan. 12, would give Illinois residents the option to carry a digital driver's license."Pull up their phone and have all their information right there," Rep. Buckner said. "(I) embraced this idea that Illinois can come once again to the 21st century and our ability to use technological tools at our disposable to make things easier."Rep. Buckner says at least a dozen states have already tested or launched the digital versions of driver's licenses. Bill passes House vote to make drivers on rideshare apps ‘common carriers’ If passed, an individual would not be issued a citation for driving without a physical driver's license if they present a digitized driver's license.Recently elected Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias also has expressed support for the idea of a mobile driver's license and havi...