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COVID emergency orders are among `greatest intrusions on civil liberties,’ Justice Gorsuch says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court got rid of a pandemic-related immigration case with a single sentence.Justice Neil Gorsuch had a lot more to say, leveling harsh criticism of how governments, from small towns to the nation’s capital, responded to the gravest public health threat in a century.The justice, a 55-year-old conservative who was President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, called emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis that killed more than 1 million Americans perhaps “the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.”He pointed to orders closing schools, restricting church services, mandating vaccines and prohibiting evictions. His broadside was aimed at local, state and federal officials — even his colleagues.“Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale,” Gorsuch wrote in an eight-page statement Thursday that accompanied an expected Supreme Court order forma...

Diplomatic tour by Ukraine’s Zelenskyy highlights Putin’s stark isolation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — While the world awaits Ukraine’s spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he’s dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for defending his country.On Friday, he was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow.President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk, chairing a meeting with local officials, sitting at a large table at a distance from the other attendees. The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation, with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over his head and clouding the prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow’s allies.With his invasion of Ukraine, “Putin took a gamble and lost really, really big time,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe As...

Attacks fly as contentious general election campaign for Kentucky governor begins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The general election campaign for Kentucky governor got off to a feisty start this week as Democrats worked to link the freshly minted Republican nominee to heavily criticized pardons by the vanquished predecessor of Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who is trying to win a second term in GOP territory.Republicans united behind attacks of their own, declaring at a morning unity rally that Beshear has overstated his role in achievements they say were based on actions taken by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature. “The governor has a press conference to take credit for the sun rising,” said Republican state Senate President Robert Stivers. “And I’m sure tonight he’ll probably have a press conference taking credit for the sun setting.”But if there was any doubt about national interest in the race, which could offer something of a preview of voter sentiment ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign, that was put to rest with a blistering ad launched on ...

FBI says past searches of foreign intelligence database broke standards but reforms have been made

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when they searched a vast repository of foreign intelligence for information related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U..S. Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a heavily blacked-out court order released Friday.FBI officials said the violations predated a series of corrective measures that started in the summer of 2021 and continued last year. But the problems could nonetheless complicate FBI and Justice Department efforts to receive congressional reauthorization of a warrantless surveillance program that law enforcement officials say is needed to counter terrorism, espionage and international cybercrime.The violations were detailed in a secret court order issued last year by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has legal oversight of the U.S. government’s spy powers. The Office of the Director of the National Intelligence released a redacted version on Friday in ...

Missouri governor picks ex-federal prosecutor to replace Kim Gardner as St. Louis circuit attorney

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday named Gabe Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, as the new chief prosecutor in St. Louis, three days after Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s sudden departure.Gore is a partner in the St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett and previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis. Black clergy and others had urged Parson to appoint a Black person to the role, and Gore is Black.Parson and Gore were joined at the announcement by Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones, Police Chief Robert Tracy and others. He said there was a “unified front” behind the new appointment, which runs through 2024. Gore said he hasn’t decided if he will run for election to the office in the August 2024 Democratic primary.“We must return stability and the rule of law to this office,” Parson said.Gore said he comes into the office with two priorities: Building back the depleted staff that has seen massive turnover of assistant prosecuto...

More protests against violence in Serbia as authorities reject opposition criticism and demands

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied in Serbia’s capital on Friday for a third time in a month in protest at the government’s handling of a crisis after two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month, even as officials rejected the criticism and ignored their demands.In a show of defiance, the nationalist right-wing party of autocratic Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic organized a counter-protest in a town north of Belgrade attended by thousands of his supporters.The opposition protesters in Belgrade were chanting slogans against Vucic, demanding the resignations of two senior ministers and the revocation of broadcasting licenses for two TV networks which, they say, promote violence and glorify crime figures. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other government officials attended a parliamentary session on Friday focusing on the May 3 and May 4 shootings and the opposition demands to replace the interior minister and the intelligence chief...

Mayor Johnson appoints first-ever deputy to combat causes of crime

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson has appointed the first-ever Deputy Mayor of Community Safety in efforts to combat root causes of crime and violence, the City of Chicago said.Johnson announced Friday that Garien Gatewood, the director of the Illinois Justice Project (IJP), will serve in the newly created governmental role.In his time at IJP, Gatewood took action to refocus youth and adults away from the justice system and give support to those re-entering society after incarceration. Mayor Johnson meets with migrants in Chicago on second day in office In 2021, Gatewood was also appointed by Governer JB Pritzker to serve on the Board of Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a state organization that hones in on improvement of public safety. In a statement released by the mayor's office, Gatewood said: “I’ve worked with the young people of Chicago for years, and I know that together we can deliver on a vision for a stronger, safer city that addresses the root causes of vi...

'I'm going to kill you': Northwest Indiana man allegedly threatens woman, leads police on pursuit while drunk

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — A Northwest Indiana man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly telling a woman he was going to kill her then leading police on a pursuit while drunk.Just after 2:20 p.m., a Porter County deputy was dispatched to the 400 block of Sassafras Drive, located northwest of Valparaiso, on the report of a woman being threatened.When the officer arrived, dispatchers told him that the suspect, later identified as Mitchell Demeter, 38, left prior in a Corvette.The woman at the residence later told police that Demeter showed up to her house following a phone call with her brother, according to the police report.The woman hid in her house as Demeter allegedly knocked on the door and yelled "I'm going to kill you."After Demeter left, the officer caught up with him near McCool Road and a traffic stop was conducted. According to the police report, Demeter gave conflicting stories on why he was in the area and the officer believed he was drunk.While back in his squad car, the of...

Cook County officials address mental health challenges in press conference

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

CHICAGO — May is Mental Health Awareness Month and county officials said they are working to strengthen the safety net of services available. County officials highlighted additional financial investments made his year to improve critical access to mental health treatment at a press conference hosted at the Headquarters of Treatment Alternatives for Safet Communities (TASC) Friday morning. Speakers talked about the ways mental health challenges impact violence, substance abuse and how everyone, including faith leaders, is getting involved to break the stigma to spread the message that help is available — and life changing. County officials highlighting additional financial investments made this year to improve critical access to mental health treatment. Chicago Police host gun turn-ins, gift cards for all guns including BB and air guns "If I didn’t have the services I wouldn’t be standing here, I am capable and willing and strong," laTonya Taylor said.  Board President Toni Preckwi...

Wayfair opens physical store in Oak Brook

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:53 GMT

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Wayfair, an online discount furniture company known for its 10% off coupons, has expanded its real-world footprint with another physical store now open in the Chicago area.The company first ventured into the physical space in May 2022 with a separate brand, AllModern, which now has three locations. However its other specialty retail brand, Joss & Main, only opened its first brick-and-mortar store in September 2022 in Burlington, not far from Wayfair's Boston headquarters. Illinoisans with unclaimed tax refunds owed more than $1,000 on average by the IRS The new store opened Thursday at Oakbrook Center and, according to the company, embraces its digital-savvy customers by offering tablets in-store for customers to shop an "endless aisle of alternative styles, colors and materials." What's more, the store has its own app which allows in-store shoppers to scan an item they like, then buy it through a virtual cart with free two-day delivery.The design of the stor...