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Robbins: Display of graphic Hunter Biden photos new low for GOP

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

Congress has never enjoyed stratospheric esteem among Americans, who long ago came to understand that their elected representatives include a fair share of lightweights, airheads and demagogues. “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress,” Mark Twain postulated. “But I repeat myself.” In the musical “1776,” John Adams decried his hapless fellow members of the Continental Congress thusly: “We piddle, twiddle and resolve; not one damned thing do we solve.”But there’s piddling, twiddling and resolving, and then there’s other stuff. The debasement of Congress to which we were treated last week was something else again, not merely a national embarrassment but one which made us a global laughingstock. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had blown up and then displayed for television cameras photographs of President Biden’s son Hunter nude, having sexual relations with various women. This was for the simple purpose of humiliating the son and inflictin...

Victim with life-threatening injuries, shot in Etobicoke

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

One person has been rushed to a trauma centre in critical condition after a shooting in Etobicoke.Toronto police were called to The Queensway and Kipling Avenue on Monday evening for reports of a shooting.Authorities located one victim with life-threatening injuries. They were transported to a local hospital via an emergency run, police confirmed.No other information has been provided.SHOOTING: UPDATEQueensway and Kipling Ave-one victim transported to hospital via emergency run#GO1724291^lm— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) July 24, 2023

NFL suspends Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike indefinitely for gambling on games

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The NFL indefinitely suspended Denver Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike on Monday for betting on league games during the 2022 season.Uwazurike, a fourth-round draft pick from Iowa State in 2022 who played in eight games as a rookie, becomes the 10th player this offseason to be suspended for gambling on games or betting on other sports while in NFL locker rooms. He will be eligible to petition for reinstatement no earlier than July 24, 2024.“Our organization fully cooperated with this investigation and takes matters pertaining to the integrity of the game very seriously,” the Broncos said in a statement. “The Denver Broncos will continue to provide all members of our organization with the necessary education, resources and support to ensure compliance with the NFL’s gambling policy.”NFL players and personnel are not allowed to gamble while in NFL facilities, disclose any nonpublic NFL information, enter a sportsbook during the NFL season, or maintain any social, bu...

Bear traps set for grizzly bear after fatal attack near Yellowstone National Park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

BILLINGS, Montana (AP) — Wildlife workers put out bear traps for a third night Monday as they try to capture a grizzly bear that killed a woman who was traveling alone on a forest trail near Yellowstone National Park.Amie Adamson, 48, Derby, Kansas, died in Saturday’s fatal mauling near the Montana-Idaho border, the Gallatin County Coroner’s Office said. The victim was a marathon runner, and officials said she was likely running or walking at the time of the attack.Officials ruled out a rare predatory attack, which suggests Adamson instead died following a chance bear encounter as she traveled by herself in a wooded area frequented by grizzly and black bears.She was killed a few hundred yards (meters) from a trailhead and a private campground and RV park, said Morgan Jacobsen with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The bear was travelling with one or more cubs, and there were no indications that it tried to eat the victim.Authorities have not decided whether they would ki...

Death of intellectually disabled inmate at Virginia prison drawing FBI scrutiny, document shows

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The FBI is looking into the death of an intellectually disabled inmate at a Virginia prison who’s been identified as “a possible victim of a crime,” the agency said in a document reviewed Monday by The Associated Press, months after a federal lawsuit was filed alleging the man was fatally beaten by correctional officers.The February 2022 death of Charles Givens, who was serving time for murder at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center, is the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging Givens was “sadistically tortured” and beaten before being found unresponsive at the southwest Virginia facility. “This case is currently under investigation by the FBI,” said an email from an FBI victim specialist addressed to an attorney for Givens’ sister. “A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and, for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at this time.”The email was dated Sunday and shared with the AP by Kym Hobbs, Givens’...

Santa Barbara’s paper, one of California’s oldest, stops publishing after owner declares bankruptcy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California’s oldest newspapers, has ceased publishing after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication bankrupt.The newspaper became an online-only publication in April. But its last digital edition was posted Friday when owner Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy. Managing editor Dave Mason broke the news to staff in an email Friday, according to NoozHawk, a digital publication whose executive editor, Tom Bolton, used to lead the News-Press.“They ran out of money to pay us. They will issue final paychecks when the bankruptcy is approved in court,” Mason wrote to staff.On Monday, the News-Press’ website was still online, with the most recent stories published Friday. There was no mention that it would cease publishing or that it has declared bankruptcy. A voicemail message left Monday by The Associated Press in the newsroom’s phone number was not immediately returned. The Chapter 7 bankrupt...

Justice Department to make prosecutor in Hunter Biden case available to testify before Congress

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The lead prosecutor in the case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says he is willing to testify publicly this fall, setting up a clash with House Republicans who have demanded he come in soon for a closed-door interview.In a two-page letter to Rep. Jim Jordan on Monday, the Justice Department offered to make U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware available before the House Judiciary Committee for a public hearing after the August break as Republicans continue to escalate their ongoing investigation into his handling of the probe into Hunter Biden.“The Department believes it is strongly in the public interest for the American people and for Congress to hear directly from U.S. Attorney Weiss on these assertions and questions about his authority at a public hearing,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote to Jordan.House Republicans, led by Jordan — chair of the Judiciary Committee — had requested last month for Weiss and nearly a dozen other officials ...

Officer who put woman in a police car hit by a train didn’t know it was on the tracks, defense says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado police officer accused of putting a handcuffed woman in a parked police car that was hit by a freight train did not know the car was parked on the tracks, the officer’s lawyer said in court Monday.While evidence will show Officer Jordan Steinke standing on the railroad tracks during a night traffic stop on Sept. 16, 2022, she did not know that an officer she was assisting had parked his patrol car on the tracks, defense lawyer Mallory Revel said in opening statements in state court in Greeley. The tracks were completely flush with the road, nothing to trip over, and there were no crossing signs or lights at the railroad crossing in the rural area, Revel said. She said prosecutors would not be able to prove that Steinke acted recklessly by leaving the woman in the patrol car. Yareni Rios-Gonzalez suffered extensive injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. She is suing over her treatment, after being arrested when a driver reported she had pointed a...

Florida couple pleads guilty to participating in the US Capitol attack

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida couple pleaded guilty Monday to participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Jamie Buteau, 50, and Jennifer Buteau, 46, both of Ocala, entered guilty pleas in District of Columbia federal court, according to court records. Jamie Buteau pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. Jennifer Buteau pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. They’re scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20.According to court documents, the Buteaus joined with others in objecting to Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob stormed the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying election results for Biden over Trump, authorities have said, and five people died in the violence.According to the criminal complaint, the Buteaus entered the U.S. Capitol building through the breached door and moved with a large mob to a ...

U of Michigan president condemns antisemitic vandalism at two off-campus fraternity houses

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:32 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan’s president has condemned antisemitic vandalism at two off-campus fraternity houses.President Santa Ono sent an email to students saying the vandalism includes broken windows and “vile, homophobic, and anti-semitic” messages spray-painted onto both houses, including a swastika at one of the locations.“These types of incidents are in direct conflict with the university’s deeply held values of respect and inclusion and have no place within our campus community or in the broader Ann Arbor community,” Ono wrote in the email.Both houses are vacant for the summer.The Ann Arbor Police Department is seeking tips about the vandalism. It said the vandalism is believed to have occurred early last week, news outlets reported.“Hate has no home in the City of Ann Arbor,” the police department said in a news release.The Associated Press