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White House Faces Calls to Stop Ex-Guantánamo Detainee’s Forced Return to Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

The mother of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee waited anxiously at her home in Russia last weekend, expecting to hear heart-stopping news about her son Ravil Mingazov, who has been imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates since his release from Guantánamo six years ago.In recent weeks, 87-year-old Zuhra Valiullina has grown convinced that something even worse could soon happen to Mingazov: He might be forced back to Russia, the country he fled after being persecuted for his Muslim faith.As all but 30 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay have been released, the notorious detention center has faded from the headlines. But Mingazov’s case — fraught with geopolitics — has drawn an unusual level of public attention. A former Russian soldier and ballet dancer, he fled Russia in 1999 in search of a place where he and his family could live and practice their faith freely. He was picked up in a raid in Pakistan in early 2002, when the U.S. was paying bounty for suspects, according to Gary Thompson, M...

Trump judge issues limited gag order after former president makes disparaging post about court clerk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

Former President Donald Trump speaks with journalists during a midday break from court proceedings in New York, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, as he attends the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that already has resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in his business dealings. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)(AP/Craig Ruttle) Former President Donald Trump speaks with journalists during a midday break from court proceedings in New York, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, as he attends the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that already has resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in his business dealings. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)(AP/Craig Ruttle) NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge imposed a limited gag order on defendant Don...

Adoptive parents charged with felony neglect after 3 children found alone in dangerous conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

Two adoptive parents in West Virginia were charged with felony neglect after two children were found locked inside a small barn and a third child was located in an unprotected loft inside an adjacent home, police said Tuesday.The parents were arraigned Tuesday on charges of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury.Authorities began investigating after they received a call Monday from someone expressing concern about the children’s welfare. Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies forced their way into the barn, where a boy and a girl were locked inside a small room. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.Inside the main residence, a small child was found alone in a loft about 15 feet (4.6 meters) high with no protection from falling, the statement said.No adults were present at the home. The adoptive parents were arrested when they ret...

Judge in New York fraud case bars Trump from making personal attacks on court staff after he disparages his law clerk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Judge in New York fraud case bars Trump from making personal attacks on court staff after he disparages his law clerk.Source

Shooting at major Bangkok shopping mall kills 2 people, and a teen suspect is arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A teenage boy with a handgun opened fire inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand’s capital Tuesday afternoon, killing two people before being apprehended, authorities said. Police said a suspect was taken into custody less than an hour after the first reported gunshots at the Siam Paragon Mall, one of Bangkok’s biggest and most upscale shopping destinations. Video uploaded to social media and broadcast on television showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Major Thai media said he was 14 years old, though recently appointed police chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed only that he is a minor and that he had a record of being treated for mental illness. He said police had not yet learned where the suspect obtained his gun.Torsak said two people had been killed, a visitor from China and a Myanmar national, and five people hurt. Earlier, Yutthana Sretthanan, director of Bangkok’s Erawan Emergency Medical Center, had said three people were...

Jews spitting on the ground beside Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land sparks outrage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A video that shows ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the ground beside a procession of foreign Christian worshipers carrying a wooden cross in the holy city of Jerusalem has ignited intense outrage and a flurry of condemnation in the Holy Land.The spitting incident, which the city’s minority Christian community lamented as the latest in an alarming surge of religiously motivated attacks, drew rare outrage on Tuesday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.Since Israel’s most conservative government in history came to power late last year, concerns have mounted among religious leaders — including the influential Vatican-appointed Latin Patriarch — over the increasing harassment of the region’s 2,000-year-old Christian community. Many say the government, with its powerful ultranationalist officials, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has emboldened Jewish extremists and created ...

Laphonza Butler sworn in to replace late California Sen. Feinstein, becomes third Black female senator in US history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Laphonza Butler sworn in to replace late California Sen. Feinstein, becomes third Black female senator in US history.Source

Connor Bedard breaks into NHL as Chicago Blackhawks look for more progress with rebuild

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKSCOACH: Luke Richardson (26-49-7 in his first season).SEASON OPENER: Oct. 10 at Pittsburgh.DEPARTURES: C Jonathan Toews, G Alex Stalock, D Caleb Jones, F Jujhar Khaira.ADDITIONS: C Connor Bedard, F Taylor Hall, F Nick Foligno, F Corey Perry, F Ryan Donato.GOALIES: Petr Mrazek (10-22-3-0, 3.66 goals-against average, 0.894 save percentage) and Arvid Soderblom (2-10-2-0, 3.45, 0.894).FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK STANLEY CUP ODDS: 200-1.LAST SEASON: Ugly, but that was the idea all along. The Blackhawks scored an NHL-low 202 goals on their way to the Central Division basement. It was almost worse, but Richardson directed the team to surprising wins against Boston, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Calgary in the final weeks of an encouraging first season in charge for the former NHL defenseman. Patrick Kane, Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty were dealt in a series of deadline trades that netted even more draft capital for the rebuilding team. STRENGTHS: Patience. Even with the offseason additi...

Braga snatches late 3-2 win at Union Berlin in the German team’s 1st Champions League home game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — André Castro scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Braga to snatch a 3-2 win at Union Berlin in the German team’s first home game in the Champions League on Tuesday.Sheraldo Becker scored twice to give dominant Union a two-goal lead, but Sikou Niakaté scored before the break, Bruma equalized soon after it, and Braga substitute Castro scored with the last attack of the game for the visitors to leave Union ruing another late defeat.Union also conceded late to lose 1-0 at Real Madrid in its tournament debut.On German Unity Day, Union – a former East German club — crossed the former divide to play its first home game in the Champions League in what was West Berlin. More than 73,000 fans attended the match in Berlin’s Olympiastadion, traditionally the home of city rival Hertha Berlin.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer Source

Pepco to pay $57 million for Anacostia River contamination, cleanup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:50 GMT

Potomac Electric Power Company, or Pepco, agreed to a $57 million settlement with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday to resolve allegations of toxic chemical discharge at its Buzzard Point and Benning Road Northeast facilities.The District contends the power company’s actions resulted in persistent toxic pollution of the Anacostia River.Under terms of the settlement, Pepco will pay $47 million toward cleanup for the Anacostia River, and $10 million in penalties.The settlement also requires Pepco to clean up contamination at its Buzzard Point and Benning Road facilities and investigate environmental impact.“We’re going to continue to monitor Pepco to ensure that they don’t just pass those costs on to ratepayers,” said D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.Schwalb said the settlement paves the way for future settlement with Anacostia polluters.“For decades, Pepco routinely discharged hazardous chemicals into the soil, groundwater and storm s...