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Jazz Fest – ‘one of the gems’ – cranks up in New Orleans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival began its two-weekend run on Friday, filling the air with the sounds of R&B, rock ‘n roll, Zydeco, pop, blues, country, rap, gospel — and of course jazz.Music fans poured into the Fair Grounds Race Course when gates opened at 11 a.m. They wandered among 14 stages or tents, many spreading blankets or tarps and setting up folding chairs, laying claim to spots where their favorite artists were to perform.And some were dancing, particularly in front of the festival’s Fais Do-Do Stage, where Zydeco rang out, played Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie.Retiree Joe Hulsey of Seattle said he and his wife have spent the last four months in New Orleans. A music festival veteran, Hulsey said Jazz Fest is his favorite.“There’s just no comparison,” he said. “It’s just one of the gems about New Orleans that I love. It’s a whole vibe. “You can’t beat the music, the food, the music,” he said, smiling.Fo...

Army sends investigators after fatal Alaska helicopter crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — Military investigators were making their way to Alaska’s interior on Friday, one day after a midair collision between two helicopters killed three soldiers and injured a fourth.The investigative team from Fort Novosel, Alabama, was expected to arrive at the scene of the crash near Healy, Alaska, by Saturday, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska. Little new information about the crash was released Friday.The Army on Thursday said two of the soldiers died at the crash site, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was injured and taken to a hospital. That soldier was in stable condition on Friday, Pennell said. The names of those who were killed were not immediately released.The Army said more details would be released when they became available. Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, Pennell has said. The helicopters were from the 1st Atta...

North Dakota’s abortion ban bill becomes veto-proof

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

North Dakota state senators overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy.Narrow exceptions would be granted for rape and incest up to six weeks of pregnancy under the bill passed April 19. Abortions for certain medical emergencies are allowed at any stage of pregnancy. The bill has passed the Senate and House with veto-proof majorities, so it could become law without Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s approval. It would be one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.Supporters said the bill would further the state’s mission to protect all human life — aged, unborn and everything in between — whereas opponents said these abortion restrictions would have dire consequences for women and girls.“We talk about rape and incest, and those are horrific circumstances,” Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal, of Edinburg, said while speaking in support of the bill on the Senate floor. “We certainly want to encourage any child, any woman, that experiences a...

Mother of innocent man murdered in B.C. gang war devastated by high court’s ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

Eileen Mohan was preparing for this day, knowing the Supreme Court of Canada would rule on a case involving one of the men found guilty of killing her son more than 15 years ago. Christopher Mohan was killed along with five others in Surrey, B.C., in October 2007. He was one of two innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a bloody gang conflict that set off a years-long legal saga.  The high court ruled Friday that one of the men found guilty of murder will have a chance to provide evidence of police misconduct and mistreatment in prison, potentially allowing him to walk free. In a unanimous decision, the top court agreed with the B.C. Court of Appeal that it was a mistake to dismiss applications to have all of that evidence heard.Eileen Mohan said in an interview after the decision that she had hoped the Supreme Court of Canada would “squash it all away” and uphold the convictions of gangsters Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston, who were found guilty of first-de...

B.C. Crown Prosecutor says Ibrahim Ali killed girl, 13, during sexual assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

VANCOUVER — A B.C. Supreme Court trial can expect to hear evidence that shows a 13-year-old girl from Burnaby, B.C., was passing through a neighbourhood park when she was dragged off a pathway into the forest by Ibrahim Ali, sexually assaulted and strangled, the Crown prosecutor told the jury Friday.In an opening statement, Crown attorney Isobel Keeley said the court will hear evidence showing the murder was random, but DNA results will prove Ali sexually assaulted her. Ali is charged with first-degree murder and entered a not guilty plea before the jury earlier this month.The body of the girl, whose name is protected under a publication ban, was found in Burnaby’s Central Park in July 2017, just hours after her mother had reported her missing.“There are no eyewitnesses to the murder,” Keeley said, but told jury members that cellphone and bank records prove Ali was in Burnaby that day.They “were strangers to one another,” she said, adding that phone rec...

Sanders praises shop workers, Ben & Jerry’s on union effort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Workers seeking to unionize at a Ben & Jerry’s retail shop in Burlington, Vermont, the city where the ice cream brand was founded announced Friday that the company has signed the fair election principles.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who has been a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, congratulated the Ben & Jerry’s workers at a press conference in his home city. “I’m very proud of the work that these workers have done in coming together to form a union and I’m very proud that we have here in Vermont a company like Ben & Jerry’s that has long stood for progressive principles, today saying they’re willing to sit down and negotiate a good contract with their workers,” Sanders said. Ben & Jerry’s said last week that it supported a plan to unionize by about 40 workers at the retail shop in downtown Burlington.It said in a statement that it shares “the goal of advancing just...

Tennessee Gov. Lee says session on guns likely after July 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that a special lawmaking session dedicated to possible changes to the state’s gun laws in the wake of a deadly school shooting last month would likely have to take place after July 4.The Republican governor said his office has offered lawmakers multiple dates for the special session, and determined that it will likely take place after July 4. His office has said he offered dates from May through August.“I think the ideal solution is that we find a way to do what most people think is important, which is to make sure that people that are a threat to themselves or others because of a mental crisis, that people that are a threat do not have access to weapons,” Lee told reporters in Covington on Friday.The timeline comes after lawmakers sped up to finish their annual session last week without taking action on a gun control plan offered by Lee after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, which killed thr...

Amtrak train derails at Chicago Union Station; some Metra lines delayed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Some Metra train lines are seeing delays at Chicago's Union Station after an Amtrak train derailed.The derailment happened at the station, according to Metra. Amtrak said a set of wheels on an inbound train came off the track. Some Metra train lines delayed due to issues at Chicago Union Station No injuries were reported, Amtrak said.Some BNSF and SWS trains are running with delays due to the derailment, according to Metra.

Chicago officials meet to discuss resources for asylum seekers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago officials said they're working against time, money and space with the surging number of asylum seekers far outpacing available resources."Our system is over capacity," Commissioner Brandie Knazze said. "Make no mistake, we are in a surge and things have yet to peak." Migrants in Chicago look to shelters for help Families with nowhere else to go are sleeping inside Chicago police districts. "This is not safe and it's not the right thing to do, the way to treat people," 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell said. In a virtual city council committee meeting, Commissioner Brandie Knazzie said as of Friday morning, the city had zero shelter beds available for families. ‘We feel isolated from society’: Migrants in Chicago seek assistance with housing Chicago is facing a recent increase in the number of people arriving daily by plane and bus from border states, in addition to the population of people who were already unhoused.Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent council mem...

EXCLUSIVE: Anheuser-Busch faces call to reaffirm support for trans community after Mulvaney pushback

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:18 GMT

(The Hill) — The Human Rights Campaign, one of the U.S.'s biggest LGBTQ+ equality organizations, is calling on Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, to publicly reaffirm its support for the transgender community. It comes after weeks of right-wing pushback over the brewing company’s recent partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.In a letter sent this week to Anheuser-Busch’s head of human resources, Jay Brown, a senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, slammed the company’s response to the controversy as insufficient and cowardly. TikTok’s Dylan Mulvaney speaks out on Bud Light backlash “In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” reads the April 26 letter obtained by The Hill.“However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and...