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Man charged with aiding Whitmer kidnap plot says scheme didn’t seem serious

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

One of three men accused of assisting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testified in his own defense Thursday, portraying himself as a scared participant in a daytime ride to see her vacation home in northern Michigan.Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts.Molitor said Whitmer’s name didn’t come up when he was encouraged by the scheme’s leader, Adam Fox, to go to Antrim County to check out a “high-profile vacation house” in August 2020.But Molitor said he became anxious when he learned that it was the governor’s lakeside house in Elk Rapids. He was in a pickup truck with Fox and an FBI informant when they twice drove by the property.“What do I say? How do I act? What do I do? How do I get out of this situation?” Molitor told the jury. “I don’t have training. I don’t have backup. I got nothing.”Molitor’s decision to testify was a rar...

Sajjan says Ottawa looking at disaster response options in wake of wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s record-setting wildfire season is spurring the federal government to consider how to tackle future fires, floods or earthquakes.Minister for Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan said Thursday that could mean a more national approach to disaster response, as the government announced $65 million in federal funding for wildfire response in six provinces and territories.“We’re looking at all different types of disasters, doing the lessons learned and we’ll come out with the appropriate response,” Sajjan said at a news conference that included several other federal cabinet ministers and MPs.“I would say all options are currently on the table, but we don’t have an answer for you yet,” said the minister responding to a question about Canada forming a national force to battle wildfires. “We’re looking at wildfires, yes, but we also need to look at floods. We also need to be ready for potential earthquakes.”F...

Former FTX crypto executive pleads guilty to making millions in illegal campaign contributions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former top executive at the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty Thursday to making tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians and engaging in a criminal conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business.Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, is the fourth high-ranking official at the company or its affiliates to plead guilty to criminal charges. Under a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit up to $1.55 billion in assets. He could also be called as a witness to testify at the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was arrested last year in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he committed a host of crimes while running the popular digital currency trading platform.Salame, 30, entered his plea before a judge in Manhattan, admitting to the court that he illegally used millions of dollars from a hedge fund controlled by Bankman-Fried to make poli...

Stock market today: Wall Street stumbles in mixed trading as Big Tech stocks drop again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slipped in mixed trading Thursday as the threat of high interest rates continues to dog Big Tech stocks. The S&P 500 fell 14.34, or 0.3%, to 4,451.14 for its third straight loss. The Nasdaq composite was hit particularly hard by the drop for tech stocks, and it sank 123.64, or 0.9%, to 13,748.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up better than the rest of the market because it has less of an emphasis on tech, and it rose 57.54 points, or 0.2%, to 34,500.73.Stocks felt pressure from the bond market, where yields rose earlier in the week after a report showed stronger growth for U.S. services industries last month than economists expected. Yields remained high after a report on Thursday said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected.While such reports are encouraging for the economy, indicating a long-predicted recession is not near, they could also keep conditions humming strongly enough to push upward on inflati...

Alberta enters global lithium race with opening of first extraction pilot project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

OLDS, Alta. — Alberta got out of the starting gates in the global critical minerals race Thursday with the opening of the province’s first lithium extraction pilot project.At his company’s site just east of the town of Olds in central Alberta, E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos called the occasion the start of a “new era” for the province’s traditionally oil-and-gas-dominated economy.“Without forsaking our past, the lithium industry opens up a whole new industry, using our existing skill set,” Doornbos said.“The opportunity to be a global leader, and to make Alberta a lithium jurisdiction, is really and truly here.”Lithium, a light metal, is in demand around the globe right now because it is a key component in electric vehicle batteries.Currently, the world’s biggest lithium producers are Australia, Chile and China. However, it has long been known that Alberta is home to one of the world’s largest lithium deposits, located deep ...

TIFF’23: Perfect Days and the simplicity of life

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

Complexity has become a large part of our lives. Using numerous social medias, keeping up multiple friendships and relationships, learning all of the latest celebrity drama. It can be too much for many, who may find themselves yearning for simplicity. For the protagonist of this film, what makes a day perfect is simplicity.#TIFF23 Perfect Days is another fantastic film by Wim Wenders, centered around a powerful yet simple performance by Kōji Yakusho. It's the one film I've seen at the festival that I can't wait to rewatch as soon as possible.— James Mackin @ TIFF 23 (@JamesMackin10) September 7, 2023Perfect Days is a Japanese film directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders (who previously made Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire, and Pina). It stars beloved Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho (from Cure and Babel) as a man called Hirayama. He is an aging man working as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, living a very structured and simple life where every day is almost exactly the same. B...

Chicago Teachers Union President admits sending son to private school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

CHICAGO — After an onslaught of online criticism, and days of silence, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union now admits she sends her eldest son to a private high school.Stacy Davis Gates has been an outspoken critic of school choice, but she tells WBEZ her family was forced to make “unfair choices” due to disinvestment in her own community. What is CPD’s response time? Experts can’t say with certainty “Our neighborhoods have basically been robbed of everything,” Davis Gates told WBEZ.The Chicago Teachers Union has not responded to multiple requests for confirmation or comment from WGN-TV.“It was a very difficult decision for us because there is not a lot to offer Black youth who are entering high school,” Davis Gates told WBEZ. “In many of our schools on the South Side and the West Side, the course offerings are very marginal and limited. Then the other thing, and it was a very strong priority, was his ability to participate in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, which...

Gilgo Beach killings: Police investigate link between Rex Heuermann, missing South Carolina mom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

(NewsNation) — Authorities are investigating a possible connection between accused Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann and a South Carolina woman who has been missing since 2017. Julia Ann Bean, 37, was last seen alive on May 31, 2017, in Sumter, South Carolina, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. Investigators have been poring over "the information they have recently received to determine if there is any evidence linking Bean with Heuermann," the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said in a press release this week. "Yet there are no confirmed facts that confirm or deny the possibility of a connection." ‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison South Carolina police asked the FBI to help investigate the possible connection after Bean's daughter recently came forward saying her mother was last seen with a man resembling Heuermann, the sheriff's office said. Bean's daughter, Cameron, also said the unfamiliar man was driving a dark truck, the sherif...

Telework crackdown: Lawmakers push federal workers to return to the office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The days federal government employees can work remotely may be numbered.Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the White House are pressuring federal workers to return to the office."We're coming after you," said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.Ernst says it's time for a telework crackdown within the federal government."I know they're still on the payroll," Ernst said. "Is COVID over? Are we able to come to work safely?"According to Ernst, taxpayer money is being wasted on empty offices.A Government Accountability Office report released in July found that it costs $7 billion to lease and manage agency headquarters — but most agencies are only using a fraction of their buildings. Of the 24 federal agencies reviewed in the report, 17 used 25% or less of their buildings' capacities during a three-week period in 2023."We’ve got to figure this out," Ernst said.Ernst is demanding answers from each agency. She also wants to stop federal workers from receiving Washington, D.C., wages ...

Man sentenced to life in prison for 2021 murder in Fredericksburg

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:57 GMT

GILLESPIE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A man was convicted by a jury in March in connection with a May 2021 shooting in Fredericksburg that killed one man and critically injured a 10-year-old girl.According to Gillespie County court documents, Esteban Mansanares-Wences was sentenced to life in state prison for murder.Documents showed Mansanares-Wences would receive a jail credit of 647 toward his sentence.Mansanares-Wences pleaded not guilty ahead of his trial date, according to documents.