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Belarus’ top diplomat says he can’t imagine his nation entering the war in Ukraine alongside Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The foreign minister of Belarus, which has a strategic partnership with Russia, says he cannot envision a situation where his country would enter the war in Ukraine alongside Russian forces.Sergei Aleinik said in an interview with The Associated Press that he also can’t imagine a situation where Russia would order his country to use the tactical nuclear weapons it recently deployed in Belarus.“I don’t see such an option because it is an instrument of defense primarily,” he said of the missiles.But if Belarus was invaded, “I will not exclude any instruments to be used to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,” he said.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has relied on Russian subsidies and political support to rule the ex-Soviet nation with an iron hand for nearly three decades, allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 at the start of the invasion. But Lukashenko has opposed ...

Director X on swapping gender and race for an updated morality tale in ‘Robyn Hood’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

TORONTO — The creator of a revamped version of the Robin Hood tale has little time for critics who object to its focus on a young Black woman.Director X, born Julien Christian Lutz, says a good deal of social media critique and indignation he’s seen over his new drama “Robyn Hood” centre on multiple changes to the centuries-old English legend: it’s set in a modern-day city, the new female folk hero Robyn leads a masked hip hop group called “The Hood” and her main adversaries are crooked cops and land developers. It’s also a predominantly Black cast, led by London actress Jessye Romeo as Robyn, although the villains in the first episode appear to be mostly white. As a result, Lutz says people seem to expect his show to be about racial tensions or social justice, but he insists there was never an intention to “promote any specific message.”“We made a modern-day Robin Hood and this wasn’t to push anything in particular,” says Lutz, who made his name as a genre-p...

‘Did he just wipe out?’: Dash-cam video shows stunt-driving motorcyclist on Hwy. 407

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) charged a motorcyclist with stunt driving after dash-cam footage captured the rider travelling at high speeds and swerving between lanes before crashing on Highway 407.OPP Highway Safety Division shared the footage on X. It shows multiple motorcycle riders passing vehicles on Hwy. 407 and Hwy. 400 in Vaughan just after noon on Sunday, Sept. 24.The driver and passenger of the vehicle recording make note of the motorcyclists passing them at a dangerous speed. It then shows the moment a motorcycle rider crashes off the highway into a ditch.“Did he just wipe out?” one woman is heard asking. “Yep.”The footage then shows one driver pulling over to assist the motorcycle rider. The vehicle with the dash-cam footage also pulls over off the highway.34-year-old motorcycle rider charged with #StuntDriving after crashing SB #Hwy400/407. Rider taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No other vehicles involved. #DashCam (Sept 23...

The Supreme Court will let Alabama’s congressional map be redrawn to better represent Black voters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the drawing of a new Alabama congressional map with greater representation for Black voters to proceed. The new districts also could help Democrats trying to flip control of the House of Representatives.The justices, without any noted dissent, rejected the state’s plea to retain Republican-drawn lines that were turned down by a lower court.In refusing to intervene, the high court allowed a court-appointed special master’s work to continue. On Monday, he submitted three proposals that would create a second congressional district where Black voters comprise a majority of the voting age population or close to it. The redrawing of the state’s districts follows a June decision by the Supreme Court in which the state’s congressional map that was drawn to reflect 2020 census results was found to dilute the voting power of the state’s Black residents. The map, which was used in the 2022 midterm elections, had jus...

Liberals, Tories join calls for House Speaker to resign over Nazi veteran invite

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

OTTAWA — House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is facing calls to step down from across the political spectrum after he invited a man who fought for the Nazis to attend a speech by Ukraine’s president.Government House leader Karina Gould said Tuesday morning that she believes members of Parliament have lost confidence in Rota.Gould said she “can’t see” how Rota will maintain the confidence of Liberal MPs, and it’s time for the Speaker to do the “honourable thing.”Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is also urging Rota to resign, following similar calls by the NDP and Bloc Québécois on Monday.Rota, whose role it is to be impartial and maintain order in the House of Commons, has been facing international scrutiny over the controversy. On Friday, Rota honoured and recognized Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of the First Ukrainian Division, during a parliamentary address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The voluntary unit was under the comm...

JPMorgan to pay $75M on claims that it enabled Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase agreed Tuesday to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims that the bank enabled the sex trafficking acts committed by financier Jeffrey Epstein.JPMorgan said that $55 million of the settlement will go toward local charities and assistance for victims. Another $20 million will go toward legal fees. The Virgin Islands, where Epstein had an estate, sued JPMorgan last year, saying its investigation has revealed that the financial services giant enabled Epstein’s recruiters to pay victims and was “indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise." In effect, the Virgin Islands had argued that JPMorgan had been complicit in Epstein's behavior and did not raise any red flags to law enforcement or bank regulators about Epstein being a “high risk” customer and making repeated large cash withdrawals. The bank also said it reached an confidential legal settlement with James “Jes” Staley, the former top JPMor...

Alleged driver in 'hit' murder of ex-girlfriend charged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — A man accused of driving a gunman to a targeted shooting of another man's ex-girlfriend was charged Monday.On Friday morning at around 6:05 a.m., North Chicago police responded to a report of shots fired in the 1000 block of Victoria Avenue. Officers at the scene located a woman shot to death inside of a vehicle in a driveway.Police initially told the public it appeared to be a targeted shooting and no one was in custody.Investigators allege Seferino Calihua-Rodriguez, 35, of Waukegan, had a previous relationship with the woman and became upset when it ended.Authorities allege Calihua-Rodriguez hired Misael Chavarin-Plazola, 26, also of Waukegan, to kill the woman.Authorities allege Rosalio Diaz Zarate, 29, of Waukegan, drove Chavarin-Plazola to the scene. Diaz Zarate was arrested on Monday and subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.Seferino Calihua-Rodriguez (L) and Misael Chavarin-Plazola (R)Cha...

House committee in Chicago to hold meeting on violent crime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

CHICAGO — The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee is in Chicago Tuesday to talk about violent crime.Democrats call the move a political stunt and say Republicans should be in Washington to avoid a government shutdown.The meeting is scheduled to start Tuesday morning with three witnesses — two of which are retired Chicago police — the third had a family member who was killed.A press release from a committee spokesperson said the goal is to examine victims of violent crime in Chicago and how Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's "pro-crime and anti-victim policies" are leading to an increase in violent crime. Foxx told the Chicago Sun-Times that Republican Committee Chair Jim Jordan, from Ohio, is here to spend time with FOP President John Catanzara, instead of focusting on victims of mass shootings caused by weak gun laws.On Monday, Congressman Danny Davis called the hearing a distraction from the Republicans inability to fund the government. The deadline to fund the go...

ChatGPT given the ability to talk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

(The Hill) -- ChatGPT now has the ability to have a conversation with you, artificial intelligence parent company OpenAI announced Monday. Through voice and image capabilities, OpenAI said the new “more intuitive” interface will offer more ways to use the program. The firm said the conversation will be back-and-forth and users will have the ability to “speak with it on the go, request a bedtime story for your family, or settle a dinner table debate.”Voice conversations between ChatGPT and its Plus and Enterprise users will be rolled out in the next two week. The text-to-speech model will generate human-like audio gathered from a collaboration with voice actors, OpenAI said. In an interview with The Washington Post, Peter Deng, vice president of consumer products at OpenAI, said integrating the voice chat was critical to getting more users on the platform. “One of the hardest jobs is taking that amazing technology and translating it into the simplicity that the next 30...

Las Vegas teens accused in bicyclist’s death arraigned in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:11:37 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two Las Vegas teens accused of intentionally hitting and killing a bicyclist appeared in court Tuesday morning, one day after being formally charged with murder and other crimes.Jesus Ayala, 18, and Jzamir Keys, 16, were arraigned in Clark County Justice Court in separate courtrooms. The two are accused of a crime spree that left one man dead and captured nationwide attention.Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, a retired California police chief, was bicycling on Aug. 14 when he was “intentionally” allegedly hit by the teens in a stolen car, police said. Las Vegas Metropolitan police said the teens stole at least three cars, hit a 72-year-old man on a bicycle, and also hit another car before the fatal hit-and-run crash. Ayala was 17 at the time of the incident.A video, shot from the front passenger seat, recorded the teens talking and laughing as the vehicle steers toward Probst and hits the bicycle from behind. Probst's body slams onto the hood and windshield before a fina...