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Body cam shows prolific federal drug prosecutor offering cops business card in DUI crash arrest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When police arrived at his house to investigate a hit-and-run, Joseph Ruddy, one of the nation’s most prolific federal narcotics prosecutors, looked so drunk he could barely stand up straight, leaning on the tailgate of his pickup to keep his balance. But he apparently was under control enough to be waiting with his U.S. Justice Department business card in hand. “What are you trying to hand me?” an officer asked. “You realize when they pull my body-worn camera footage and they see this, this is going to go really bad.”That footage obtained by The Associated Press showed Ruddy apparently attempting to leverage his position to blunt the fallout from a Fourth of July crash in which he is accused of drunkenly striking another vehicle and leaving the scene. But despite being charged, the 59-year-old Ruddy remained on the job for two months, representing the United States in court as recently as last week to notch another win for the sprawling task force he helped...

Rain pouring onto Hong Kong and southern China floods city streets and subway stations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Rain pouring onto Hong Kong and southern China overnight flooded city streets and some subway stations, halting transportation and forcing schools to close Friday.Videos circulating on social media show flooded streets in Hong Kong and nearby Guangdong province, with vehicles driving through the water and rescue teams using rafts to navigate the streets. Water rushed down the stairs and escalators of a flooded underground subway station in Hong Kong, and cars were caught in muddy water on flooded streets, including in the cross-harbor tunnel that connects Hong Kong Island with Kowloon. The heavy downpours led Hong Kong and the mainland city of Shenzhen to close schools, and non-essential workers in Hong Kong were urged to not head to their workplaces Friday. Most bus services in Hong Kong were halted.The Hong Kong Observatory said it recorded 158.1 millimeters (6.2 inches) of rain in the hour between 11 p.m. Thursday and midnight, the highest recording since records...

Florida abortion rights at stake as state Supreme Court takes up challenge to GOP-led restrictions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

The fate of abortion rights in Florida will be at stake Friday morning when the state Supreme Court is expected to take up a challenge to a law banning the procedure in most cases after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which will determine whether an even stricter six-week ban signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis can take effect.The seven justices — including five conservatives appointed by DeSantis, a GOP candidate for president — are set to hear oral arguments in Tallahassee in the lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and others. They claim the Florida Constitution’s privacy clause for more than 40 years has explicitly protected a right to abortion in the state.“Plain text and historical context place beyond doubt that Florida’s Privacy Clause protects against governmental interference in all aspects of a person’s private life, including decisions about pregnancy,” the plaintiffs say in court papers.Florida officials contend the Supreme Court has...

From spaceships to ‘Batman’ props, a Hollywood model maker’s creations and collection up for auction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to a complete Stormtrooper costume from “Star Wars,” bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career.The collection amassed by Jein, who died last year at age 76, will be offered up by Heritage Auctions next month in Dallas. Jein, who had an Oscar and Emmy nominated career making miniature models, was also a collector of costumes, props, scripts, artwork, photographs and models from the shows he loved.“He spent his entire lifetime in a movie industry at a time when practical effects and models were the way that magic happened,” said Joshua Benesh, Heritage’s chief strategy officer. “They were the way that spaceships traveled through outer space. They were the way that aliens came and visited Earth. They were the way that catastrophes and disasters were ...

Asian Games set to go in China with more athletes than the Olympics but the same political intrigue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The Asian Games are set to go in China, the first multi-sport international event in the country since pandemic restrictions were lifted there about nine months ago.This giant sports festival in the eastern city of Hangzhou involves more athletes than the Olympics with 12,417 entered, according to organizers. About 11,000 participated two years ago in the scandal-filled Tokyo Olympics, and about 10,500 are headed to next year’s Paris Games.Unmatched for size, the Asian Games may even surpass the Olympics for controversy, power politics, and intrigue.The games begin on Sept. 23 amid an open power struggle between International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a long-time IOC member who is often described as the “kingmaker” who helped Bach win election in Buenos Aires in 2013. Bach is due to step down in 2025 because of IOC term limits and hardball politics are in play around who succeeds him.In a rare move, ...

Senators question positives, negatives of AI and how it could effect lives and competition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other lawmakers examined the potential dangers from artificial intelligence across the globe and at home Thursday."I think we're in unchartered waters to a certain extent," Manchin said. "Those of you ahead of the curve right now can help us from falling into the deep end."Manchin said a recent M.I.T. study showed some of the risks when an AI chatbot gave a group of students information on how to cause another pandemic."And these were non-scientist students? How can we put the cat back in the box," Manchin said. "I don't think we can put it back in the box," said Rick L. Stevens, Argonne National Labs associate laboratory director. "I think we're going to need — we have to get smarter about how we manage the risks associated with advanced AI systems."Both lawmakers and experts agreed the U.S. needs to be the world leader on AI. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) fears China could try to copy the U.S.' advancements."Are the national labs r...

Heat affecting Capital Region schools and a hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

FULTON COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The heat wave in the Capital Region has been affecting afterschool sports and now, even some hospital patients. NEWS10 has the story.  New detection system for Glenridge Road bridge The real feel temps are hitting above 90 again with some seeing their fourth straight day of extreme temps for this time of year. One man in Gloversville claims his father’s hospital room hit nearly 90 degrees before getting kicked out for complaining. “I might as well take my dad home. He has air conditioning and it’s 70 degrees in his house. Stayin there [hospital] is actually going to probably make his condition worse,” said Hulbert.  The concerned son said he reached out to the CEO of Nathan Littauer for answers, and he feels as though it may have forced his father out against doctors’ orders… after complaining about the heat. “He was given discharge papers and was released from Nathan Littauer hospital this afternoon. After the doctor this morning, when he was i...

Towards a more digital social security co-ordination: Commission proposes steps to make it easier for Europeans to live, work and travel abroad

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

The Commission has proposed concrete steps to further digitalise the coordination of social security systems in Europe, in a dedicated Communication. It lays out actions to make access to social security services quicker and simpler across borders by making full use of digital tools, reducing administrative burden for citizens and business.This will improve the exchanges of information between national social security institutions and speed up the recognition and granting of eligible benefits across borders. It will thus make it easier for Europeans to live, work and travel abroad, for companies to do business in other EU countries, and for national administrations to coordinate social security across borders.Despite previous initiatives to improve the cross-border flow of social security information, national institutions, healthcare providers and labour inspectorates still face difficulties accessing and sharing data, due to insufficient interoperability between national systems. ...

Serial Long Beach arsonist remains at large after suspect release

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

Long Beach residents are continuing to live in fear after a man suspected of being a serial arsonist was released without being charged on Thursday.Police arrested the suspect on Wednesday, but L.A. County investigators now say they do not believe that man is the suspect behind the destructive fires.The series of vehicle fires began on Aug. 20 and occurred in an area between the Long Beach Convention Center and Camden Harbor View Apartments along Cedar Walk. Three of the five blazes took place in the apartment complex’s parking garage, causing extensive damage.Long Beach fire officials had previously described the arrested man as a person of interest and noted that he matched the description of a man seen in photos and videos near the fires.After that man was taken into custody, arson investigators released him, saying he was not the culprit behind the fires.The aftermath of a truck fire inside a Long Beach apartment complex parking structure is seen on Sept. 5, 2023. (KTLA) The aft...

Controversial transgender policy up for vote in Orange Unified School District

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:00 GMT

The latest battlefront in the culture wars was unfolding Thursday night at the Orange Unified School District Board meeting where officials were voting on whether to enact a controversial parent notification policy regarding transgender students.  After a deeply divisive evening, with vocal opposition and support for the parental notification policy, the vote was still underway late into the evening.  The new policy, if adopted, would require schools in the district to notify parents if their child requests to be identified or treated as a gender other than what’s listed on their birth certificate. The policy would include requests to use pronouns that don’t align with their biological sex or gender or a name different from their legal name. Additionally, parents would be notified if a student asks to use a restroom or changing facility of a gender different than the one listed on their official paperwork. Parent Rosa Otero, who supports the policy, believes that pare...