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Man accused of attacking Muslim lawmaker in Connecticut ordered to undergo psych exam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man accused of attacking a Connecticut state representative outside a Muslim prayer service was ordered Thursday to undergo a mental competency evaluation.Andrey Desmond, 30, appeared in Superior Court on several charges, including attempted sexual assault in the June attack on state Rep. Maryam Khan, who was attending a service at Hartford’s XL Center with her family marking Eid al-Adha, the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage by Muslims to Mecca.Court records show that Desmond, who was living in New Britain, has a history of mental illness. The New York Times reported that he had been placed under intensive monitoring three years ago in New York after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.Desmond’s public defender, John Stawicki, asked for the mental health evaluation, saying he does not believe his client understands what is happening and could assist in his own defense. Desmond is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 1 following the exam.Khan...

THINGS TO KNOW: Deadline looms for new map in embattled North Dakota redistricting lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The clock is running out on a Friday deadline for North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries compliant with the Voting Rights Act for two Native American tribes who successfully sued for new lines.It’s unclear what will happen next, with the 2024 election calendar looming and a flurry of legal filings in recent days.A federal judge last month ruled that the state’s 2021 redistricting map violates the landmark 1965 civil rights law in diluting the strength of Native American voters. He gave the secretary of state and lawmakers five weeks, ending Friday, “to adopt a plan to remedy the violation.”Secretary of State Michael Howe is appealing the decision. The Legislature’s Redistricting Committee began meeting this month to address the ruling and review options of maps. Requests to delay the ruling or extend the deadline have so far been unsuccessful.WHAT IS THE CASE? The Turtle Mountain Band of...

Michael J. Fox documentary, Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ song shortlisted for Oscar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

An intimate documentary on Michael J. Fox and a song recorded by Ryan Gosling are among the films and music advancing to the next round of the Oscars race.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced short lists in 10 categories, including best original song, documentary feature, original score, and crafts such as hair and makeup, visual effects and sound.“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” made the cut in the documentary feature film category. The project is Davis Guggenheim’s portrait of the life and career of the Canadian actor.Also on the documentary short list is “To Kill a Tiger,” about a farmer in India seeking justice for his sexually assaulted 13-year-old daughter. It’s directed by Toronto-based Nisha Pahuja.The viral “Barbie” ballad “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling, made the best original song short list along with two other songs from the summer blockbuster: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night...

Things to know about a federal judge’s ruling temporarily blocking California’s gun law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrats running California’s government have passed some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but those efforts to restrict firearm access are increasingly facing successful challenges in court.Gun rights groups have been aggressively fighting the laws, often winning initial rulings in their favor before heading to appeal. They’ve gotten a recent boost from the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which set a new standard for interpreting gun laws. That standard says gun laws must be assessed by whether they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”They won again on Wednesday, when a federal judge temporarily blocked a law that would ban people from carrying guns in most public places.WHAT DID THE LAW DO?The law banned people from carrying guns in most public places. The list included all daycare and school grounds, college campuses, government and j...

Toronto officer with prior charge suspended with pay for allegedly assaulting woman: TPS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

A Toronto police officer who was charged with assaulting a woman in 2022 is facing a similar offence and has been suspended with pay once again.The Toronto Police Service (TPS) said on Dec. 20, 2023, a man and a woman were involved in a dispute when a woman was allegedly assaulted.Const. Sameer Kara, 40, was charged with assault that same day. Related: 3 Toronto cops found not guilty of sexually assaulting a colleague Const. Kara was slated to appear in court on Dec. 21. He has 14 years of service with the TPS and has been suspended with pay. In April 2022, Const. Kara was charged with assaulting a woman in the area of Dundas Street West and Keele Street. At the time of that incident, the TPS said Const. Kara was not on duty.In 2015, Const. Kara was one of three Toronto police officers who were acquitted and found not guilty of sexually assaulting a parking enforcement officer in a hotel. Constables Leslie Nyznik, Joshua Cabero and Kara had pleaded not guilty in con...

Family files lawsuit after vicious attack at Kankakee group home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

KANAKEE, Ill. -- A mother is demanding answers after her 30-year-old son with autism was severely beaten nearly two and a half years ago while staying at a Kankakee group home.Micki Stankewitz told WGN-TV her son Zach was diagnosed with autism as a child and has developmental disabilities.But Zach was a highly functional, outgoing, and active young man. That was up until two years ago."My son pretty much got his life changed, upside down and a lot of him got taken away," Stankewitz said. SUV crashes into townhomes in Niles; 2 taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries In 2019, Zach moved into a small group home in Kankakee run by a company called "Help at Home."Micki said he was doing well there until she got a call in the summer of 2021 that he had been taken to the hospital."I got a call from the hospital stating that my son has multiple brain bleeds because he needs more intensive care," Stankewitz said.Reports show in addition to brain injuries, Zach had 39 cuts and ...

Rare mushroom that hisses only blooms in Japan — and this U.S. state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – A hissing mushroom might sound like something out of "Super Mario World" but this rare toadstool wasn't made up by Nintendo. It's called chorioactis geaster but it goes by a few other names.Here in the U.S., it's likely known as the Texas star since it's only been found in Texas — not to mention over 6,000 miles away in Japan, where it grows on decaying oak trees. In 2021, it was even designated the official State Mushroom of Texas.It typically appears during cooler months and grows only on the decomposing cedar elm tree stumps and roots in the U.S. Oh, and yes, it hisses.  ‘Ferrari’ review: Fast and furious family drama takes wrong turn “[The Texas star] will open up into a leathery star of four to eight points,” said Angel Schatz with the Central Texas Mycology Society. “That's when it starts to send off its spores, and sometimes you can hear an audible hiss,” Schatz said. “[Mushrooms] will shoot their spores when there's humidity and also when t...

Memorial marks 35th anniversary of Pan Am 103 bombing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

The sound of bagpipes rang through the air, as more than 100 people marked the 35th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan American Airlines Flight 103."Three hundred and six thousand, six hundred hours, and yet it feels like just yesterday," Kara Weipz, Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 President, said.The explosion took the lives of 270 people, in the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland."Too many mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, siblings and children, who perished, far before their times," Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Homeland Security Advisor, said.190 of the passengers were Americans, including students from Syracuse University. The impacted families have spent decades providing each other support."Over those years, we've provided friendship and support for one another, while working to find the truth and obtain justice for all those lost in this terrible act of terrorism," Judy O'Rourke, Syracuse University retiree, said.Family members, friends, and current Syracuse students ...

Top U.S. officials to visit Mexico for border talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) says the situation at the border is getting worse. “Migrants are jumping on the trains so they can get to the U.S. faster,” Cuellar said. On Sunday, to mitigate the sudden surge of migrants, Customs and Border Protection shut down operations at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso. Cuellar says that hurts the economy. “Especially in Eagle Pass,” Cuellar said. “There are 10 to 14 trains a day. Depending on them you can go from 5 to 10 million dollars per train. That's a lot of business that we are losing.” Republican senators are demanding the Biden administration re-open the rail ports of entry immediately. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Republicans argued “American producers and consumers will suffer daily as long as these entry points are closed.” The White House says President Biden and Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are w...

Hermès heir wants to leave $6 billion to his former gardener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – An 80-year-old heir to the Hermès fortune has an unconventional idea of how he wants pass down his massive wealth. Nicholas Puech, whose mother is Yvonne Hermès, is a member of the fifth generation of one of the wealthiest families in the world. Puech's real-time net worth is near $12 billion, according to Forbes. He resigned from Hermès' board in 2014, according to Forbes, but still owns about a 5% stake in the fashion and luxury goods company. Originally, his wealth was set to be inherited by a philanthropy organization he founded called the Isocrates Foundation. But now it appears Puech has had a change of heart. At least 15 people die in a mass shooting at a Prague university Puech is instead fighting to make a former employee his legal heir, Swiss news outlet Tribune de Genève reported this month. The would-be heir is described by the Swiss paper as a "doméstique" of Moroccan origin. CNN reports he was a former gardener, handyman and domestic worker for Puech. Pu...