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Dominican Republic closes all borders with Haiti as tensions rise on island both countries share

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

DAJABON, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic shut all land, air and sea borders with Haiti on Friday in a dispute about construction of a canal on Haitian soil that taps into a shared river, as armed Dominican soldiers patrolled entry points and military planes roared overhead.Flights were canceled and border towns usually teeming with vendors and Haitians crossing daily to work in the Dominican Republic were subdued. Crowds of people on the Haitian side gathered under the shade of trees as they observed the scene on Friday. Nearby, a white flag fluttered in the breeze under a Haitian flag in a sign of peace.It was unclear how long the rare closure of the borders will last, with Dominican President Luis Abinader saying the measure will remain in place “as long as necessary.” The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the canal project violates a 1929 treaty and “must be halted immediately before pursuing any other dialogue.”The diplomatic c...

A member of the secret panel studying Wisconsin Supreme Court justice’s impeachment backed her rival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justices tapped to investigate impeaching newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz for taking Democratic Party money accepted donations from the state Republican Party when he was on the court. The former justice, Republican David Prosser, gave $500 to the conservative candidate who lost to Protasiewicz, did not recuse from cases involving a law he helped pass as a lawmaker and was investigated after a physical altercation with a liberal justice.Prosser is one of three former justices tapped by the Republican Assembly speaker to investigate the criteria for taking the unprecedented step of impeaching a current justice. Speaker Robin Vos has floated impeachment because Protasiewicz accepted nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party and said during the campaign that heavily gerrymandered GOP-drawn legislative electoral maps were “unfair” and “rigged.”The impeachment threat comes after Protasiewicz’s win this s...

One American, two Russians blast off in Russian capsule to International Space Station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — One American and two Russians blasted off Friday aboard a Russian spacecraft from a spaceport in Kazakhstan on a quick trip to the International Space Station.NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. O’Hara will spend six months at the station while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year there.The trio was supposed to fly to the space station last spring, but their original capsule was needed as a replacement for another crew. That crew — also two Russians and an American — will ride it home later this month. Their stay was extended from six months to a year when their Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak while parked at the station.It’s the first spaceflight for O’Hara and Chub, while mission commander Kononenko is on his fifth trip to the orbiting outpost.The crew was due to arrive three hours later, joining seven station residents from U.S., Russia, Denmark and Japan.When they...

Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is almost over. This is what’s happened and what’s next

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The historic impeachment trial that could remove Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from office over corruption allegations is now in the hands of a jury of 30 state senators, most of them Republicans like him.The impeachment charges center on allegations that Paxton improperly used the powers of his office to protect Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted in June on federal charges of making false statements to banks.Senators began deliberations Friday after closing arguments from the bipartisan group of House managers prosecuting Paxton and the attorney general’s defense lawyers.“We discovered unprecedented abuse in the Texas attorney general’s office by Mr. Paxton,” said state Rep. Andrew Murr, a Republican. “He has betrayed us, and the people of Texas.”In a fiery defense, Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee insisted the House had not proved their case and called the impeachment a “political witch hunt.”“There is shame here, and the ...

Progressive Councilmember Freddie O’Connell wins Nashville mayor’s race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Freddie O’Connell, a progressive member of Nashville’s metro council, has resoundingly won the race to become the next mayor of the Democratic-leaning city, according to unofficial results.Results from the Davidson County Election Commission show O’Connell defeated conservative candidate Alice Rolli in Thursday’s runoff election by a wide margin, with all precincts reporting. Candidates in the race do not run with party affiliations.Since 2015, O’Connell has served on the combined city-county government’s council, representing a district that covers downtown Nashville. He succeeds Mayor John Cooper, who decided not to seek reelection.O’Connell, whose campaign touted him as the “only truly progressive candidate running for mayor,” said he wants to make the city “more ’ville and less Vegas,” a reference to the “Nashvegas” moniker sometimes used to liken the huge boom in tourism in the city to Las Vegas. “Eve...

British neonatal nurse found guilty of murdering 7 babies launches bid to appeal her convictions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British neonatal nurse who was found guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of six others has launched a bid to appeal her convictions, officials said Friday. Lucy Letby, 33, was sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance of release. A jury at Manchester Crown Court had found her guilty of the seven murders between June 2015 and June 2016 at the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England.She was also found guilty of seven murder attempts involving six other babies there but was cleared of two additional charges of attempted murder. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on several other charges.Officials at the Court of Appeal said Friday they had received an application for permission to appeal against the convictions. Typically, applications for permission to appeal against a crown court decision are considered by a judge without a hearing. If the bid is refused, the guilty parties have the right to renew...

Louisiana moves juveniles from adult penitentiary but continues to fight court order to do so

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Juvenile detainees who were being held at a former death row building at Louisiana’s adult penitentiary were transferred to a new facility in north Louisiana, state juvenile justice officials said Friday.Friday was the deadline a federal judge had set for moving the youths from the prison at Angola in rural West Feliciana Parish. The state had won a temporary delay from a federal appeals court that was preparing to consider the case. The state said it would continue with its appeal, even while going ahead with the transfer.The announcement from the Office of Juvenile Justice said the state found that a Jackson Parish juvenile facility that opened in July could accept the youths being held at Angola. They are to be housed there until work is completed on a new state facility in Monroe.The number of youths involved in the transfer was not released.Juvenile detainees and their advocates allege in a lawsuit that youths have been held in harmful conditions at the...

Jayne Anne Phillips, Paul Harding are among National Book Award fiction nominees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Historical novels by Jayne Anne Phillips and Paul Harding and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s dystopian prison novel “Chain-Gang All-Stars” are among the nominees on the National Book Awards long list for fiction. Phillips, a former National Book Award finalist, was cited for “Night Watch,” and Harding, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was nominated for “The Other Eden.”The 10 fiction titles announced Friday by the National Book Foundation also include Mona Susan Power’s multigenerational “A Council of Dolls,” Eliot Duncan’s coming-of-age novel “Ponyboy,” and two other historical works: Hanna Pylväinen’s “The End of Drum-Time” and Tania James’s “Loot.” The other nominees are Justin Torres’ “Blackout,” his first novel since his acclaimed debut “We the Animals” was published more than a decade ago, and a pair of story collections: Aaliyah Bilal’s “Temple Folk” and LaToya Watkins’ “Holler, Child.” Some of the year’s most highly praised and anticipated f...

Alaska lawmaker’s husband was flying meat from hunting camp when crash occurred, authorities say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The plane flown by the husband of Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola was carrying a load of moose meat from a remote hunting camp when it crashed, killing him earlier this week, authorities said. Eugene Peltola Jr., 57, was the only person aboard the small plane when it crashed late Tuesday. Two hunters who were at the camp in western Alaska at the time provided medical care, authorities have said.The chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board had previously said the plane appeared to have crashed under unknown circumstances upon takeoff after Peltola dropped off a hunter and equipment about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of St. Mary’s. But Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel on Thursday said the plane crashed shortly after takeoff while carrying a second load of moose meat from the two hunters who later gave him medical aid.A federal team has arrived in Alaska to begin investigating the incident, the Anchorage Daily News reported...

Benchmark hosting 'Catalina Wine Mixer'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:10:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Fans of "Stepbrothers" will be able to enjoy the "Catalina Wine Mixer" next Friday at Benchmark in Old Town.The seventh-annual event features 30+ wine tastings, appetizers, a DJ, raffles and prices.Attendees will be able to purchase wine by the bottle directly from Benchmark’s wine vendors throughout the evening at discounted prices.The tickets are $20 and it takes place Friday, Sept. 22 from 7 to 10 p.m.