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Trump-appointed judge rejects Tennessee’s anti-drag law as too broad, too vague

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional, a federal judge says.The law is both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” according to the ruling late Friday by U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. The judge also said the statute encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.”“There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But there is a difference between material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law,” Parker said.“Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech,” he said.The law would have banned adult cabaret performances from public property or anywhere minors might be present. Performers who broke the law risked being charged with a misdeme...

Connecticut governor poised to sign state’s most sweeping gun measure since post-Sandy Hook laws

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A slate of gun control measures was headed Saturday to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk, after an all-night state Senate debate and early morning vote to approve the state’s most wide-ranging gun legislation since the laws that followed the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.Lamont, a Democrat, plans to sign the measure. He said in a statement that the legislation would “modernize our firearm safety laws in a smart and strategic way to help prevent tragedy from happening.” Among other things, the changes would ban openly carrying firearms and prohibit selling more than three handguns within 30 days to any one person, with some exceptions for instructors and others.Other provisions include expanding Connecticut’s current assault weapon ban to include some other similar weapons; stiffening penalties for possession of large-capacity magazines; expanding safe-storage rules to more settings; and adding some domestic violence crimes to the lis...

UAE defends Big Oil’s role at UN climate summit it will host

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants the U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming, but doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table.Environmental campaigners have slammed the presence of oil and gas lobbyists at previous rounds of talks, warning that their interests are opposed to the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions — caused to a large degree by the burning of fossil fuels. Last month scores of U.S. and European lawmakers called for the summit’s designated chair, Sultan al-Jaber, to be replaced over his links to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.The issue complicates already-delicate negotiations ahead of the Nov. 30 – Dec. 12 meeting in Dubai, known as COP28. Preliminary talks starting next week in Bonn, Germany, will show whether the incoming UAE presidency can overcome skepticism among ...

Russia bans ‘unfriendly’ countries’ journalists from showpiece economic gathering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Saturday that journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly have been banned from covering this year’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, one of the country’s showpiece events.The move underlines the intensifying animosity between Russia and countries that have imposed sanctions connected to the fighting in Ukraine or that have criticized Moscow. The June 14-17 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has for decades been Russia’s vehicle for touting its development and seeking investors. Putin’s appearances at the forum have been highly visible and he often used the occasion to hold roundtable discussions with international news executives.“Yes, indeed. It was decided not to accredit media outlets from unfriendly countries to the SPIEF this time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as telling state news agency Tass.Russia formally designates scores of countries inc...

4 children found unresponsive after fishing mishap along banks of St. Lawrence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

Four children were found unresponsive and a man in his 30s remains missing after a fishing trip along the St. Lawrence River near a town northeast of Quebec City, according to Quebec provincial police.The Sûreté du Québec says the bodies of the four children were found around 2 a.m. Saturday along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer – across the river from Rimouski.Police believe a group of 11 people were fishing on the banks.“According to initial information, a group of people were fishing on the shore on foot when they got caught by the tide,” said Sgt. Catherine Bernard, a spokesperson for the SQ. “Six people managed to be rescued in time while five people were missing.”“Four young children were found very early this morning unresponsive on the edge of the bank and a man in his 30s is still missing.”The bodies of the four children were found a few hours after a 2 a.m. 911 call; they were transported to a nearby health clinic.Police are still waiting for word on the children’...

Gadhafi’s son goes on hunger strike in Lebanon to protest detention without trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A son of Libya’s late leader Moammar Gadhafi, who has been held in Lebanon for more than seven years, began a hunger strike Saturday to protest his detention without trial, his lawyer said.Hannibal Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of a Shiite cleric who went missing in Libya 45 years ago.Gadhafi was later taken by Lebanese authorities and has been held in a Beirut jail without trial.Attorney Paul Romanos told The Associated Press that his client started the hunger strike Saturday morning and “he is serious and will continue with it until the end.” Romanos did not go into details of the case as he was not authorized to speak about it to the media. Gadhafi issued a statement describing his conditions. “How can a political prisoner be held without a fair trial all these years?” Gadhafi, who is ...

Austria’s Social Democrats choose Doskozil as new leader, looking to elections expected next year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s center-left Social Democrats elected Hans Peter Doskozil as their new party leader Saturday, hoping to turn around the party’s fortunes ahead of parliamentary elections expected in the small Alpine nation next year.Doskozil, the governor of the southeastern Burgenland region, won 53% of the vote among party delegates in Linz Saturday afternoon.“It’s overwhelming,” he said in a speech after the results came in, calling it a “lifelong dream” to lead the SPOe.Andreas Babler, the mayor of the southeastern city of Traiskirchen, came in second with 46.8% of the vote.The SPOe, which last served in government in 2017, has struggled to consolidate support in recent years. In Austria’s last parliamentary elections in 2019, the party won 21.2% of the vote, far behind the conservative People’s Party, or OeVP.The OeVP currently leads the national government in coalition with the Greens, a constellation that has been in place since early 2020.Many in the SPOe blamed the pa...

One northern Quebec town evacuated as wildfires spread; others allowed to return home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

MONTREAL — Another northern Quebec town has been evacuated overnight due to an out of control wildfire as the federal government confirmed that Canadian Forces personnel will help deal with the situation in the province.About 2,000 residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, in northern Quebec, were the latest to receive a mandatory evacuation notice on Friday evening due to forest fires.The municipality, about 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal, recommended those who couldn’t stay with relatives should leave with an emergency kit and head to Senneterre, about 90 kilometres south of the community.Meanwhile, there was good news for the 1,000 residents of Chapais, another northern Quebec town where the local mayor says residents can return home later today after being forced to evacuate on Wednesday evening.Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair confirmed today the federal government had approved a request from Quebec seeking military assistance, and Canadian Forces troops w...

Boy, 16, charged for attempted murder in shooting on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy will be facing 13 felony charges in connection to a shooting that left three officers injured, a police report said.According to police, the boy will be facing six felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, three felony counts of aggravated discharged of firearm, three more felony counts of aggravated discharge of firearm at peace officer and one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of weapon under the age of 21.Police said that he was arrested Thursday evening in the 4200 block of South Princeton Avenue around 8:32 p.m. and was identified as the person who minutes earlier fired shots in the direction of Chicago police officers in the 4200 block of South Wells Street. Man found dead after hourslong SWAT standoff in Humbolt Park Pierre Johnson, 14, was fatally shot in the chest in the shooting and four others were also injured in the incident, including the alleged suspect, police said. A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg and transported to the...

Maxwell Frost slams DeSantis on stage at Paramore concert in DC: 'I said what I said'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:29 GMT

(The Hill) – Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on stage at a Paramore concert in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Videos circulating on social media show the freshman congressman being invited onto the stage by Paramore singer Hayley Williams, who introduced him as the "first Gen Z congressman."Williams praised Frost as he walked up, asking the audience members, “Do you see this? Do you see the future right here?” She then handed over the mic after asking Frost if he "had anything to say to these beautiful people.""F--- Ron DeSantis” and “f--- fascism,” he said. Hayley Williams of Paramore, seen here during the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest in Feb. 2023, invited Frost to the stage during a performance of the band's song "Misery Business." (Photo by Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP)Clips of Frost's remarks were later retweeted by Frost's own Twitter account.“I said what I said,” Frost later posted on the social-media platform.Video also showed Frost singing and ...