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At White House, ‘L Word’ cast praises Biden’s LGBTQ record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cast members and the creator of the Showtime series “The L Word” praised President Joe Biden on Tuesday for his support of LGBTQ rights. The groundbreaking show followed the lives of lesbian friends in Los Angeles, struggling with romance and careers. Actors Leisha Hailey, Jennifer Beals and Katherine Moennig and executive producer Ilene Chaiken joined White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay woman to hold the job, at a press briefing in honor of Lesbian Visibility Week.Chaiken said the LGBTQ community is “painfully aware that our struggles are far from over,” citing book bans and attacks on members of the community. The Florida state Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades last week, expanding the law that bans such lessons up to grade 3 at the request of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run.“They may try to erase ...

Arizona county’s new elections head shared voter fraud memes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A rural Arizona county where leaders have embraced voting machine conspiracies on Tuesday hired an elections director who has promoted the false claims that voter fraud cost former President Donald Trump reelection in 2020.The two Republicans on the three-member Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted to hire Bob Bartelsmeyer, who shared memes on his personal Facebook page supporting Trump’s claims of fraud and promoting the lie that Dominion voting machines manipulated the outcome. Fox News last week agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to settle a defamation case, after the network repeatedly aired the bogus voting machine claims after the 2020 election.The hiring of Bartelsmeyer is the latest controversial decision by the conservative majority in the southeastern Arizona county of 125,000 people, which voted for Trump over Joe Biden in 2020 by nearly 20 percentage points. The two Republicans on the board, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, trie...

Danny Masterson’s ex says rape came years into relationship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former girlfriend of actor Danny Masterson testified Tuesday that he had grown increasingly abusive and controlling during their five-year relationship when he raped her in their bed in November of 2001. The woman, a model who had begun dating Masterson in 1996, shortly before he gained fame as a star of the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” said there had been previous instances when she woke in the night to find Masterson on top of her, and had accepted sex with him to avoid angering him. On this night, however, she said clearly she did not consent, and resisted.“I told him ‘no, I don’t want to have sex.’ He didn’t listen to me,” said the woman, the first to take the stand in the Los Angeles courtroom at Masterson’s retrial on three counts of rape. She spoke more quickly and grew more emotional as the story continued. “So I continued pleading with him, like, ‘please get off of me, no.’ And he was continuing. And it was painful. And I remember trying to push...

Ed Sheeran testifies in “Let’s Get It On” copyright suit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ed Sheeran took the witness stand in a New York courtroom Tuesday to deny allegations that his hit song “Thinking Out Loud” ripped off Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get It On.”Sheeran, 32, was called to testify in the civil trial by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer on the 1973 soul classic. The family has accused the English star of violating their copyright, claiming his 2014 hit bore “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” to the famed Gaye track.Sheeran, in a dark suit and tie and his trademark ginger locks, was adamant that he had come up with the song himself, sparring at times with the plaintiff’s attorney, Keisha Rice, on the subject of “independent creation.”In response to video played in the courtroom, which showed the musician segueing on stage between the two songs, Sheeran noted it was very common for musicians to weave other artists’ songs into their live shows.Earlier in the day, a lawyer for Towns...

Neighborhood fights Haiti gangs after vigilante killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Armed with machetes, bottles, and rocks, residents in the hilly suburbs of Haiti’s capital fought back against encroaching gangs Tuesday, a day after a crowd burned 13 suspected gangsters to death in a gruesome outburst of vigilante violence.Tired of relying on an understaffed police department, scores of men in the Canape Vert neighborhood of Port-au-Prince spent the night on roofs and patrolled entrances of their community blocked with big trucks spray-painted with the words, “Down with gangs.”“We are planning to fight and keep our neighborhood clean of these savages,” Jeff Ezequiel, a 37-year-old mechanic, told The Associated Press. “The population is tired and frustrated.”The makeshift brigade is the latest example of growing attempts by Haitians to fight gangs on their own. Earlier this year, people elsewhere in Port-au-Prince and in the central Artibonite region, which has been hit by heavy gang violence, have lynched several suspected gang members...

B.C. firefighters describe Myles Gray’s injuries at coroner’s inquest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

BURNABY, B.C. — Myles Gray had bruising around his eyes and along the sides of his neck when he stopped moving in the minutes after a beating by Vancouver police, a retired fire captain told the British Columbia coroner’s inquest into the 33-year-old’s death.Former Burnaby, B.C., firefighter John Campbell testified that he noticed the injuries after Gray stopped struggling and police rolled him over to perform CPR.Gray died after the beating by several officers in August 2015 that left him with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles.When Campbell first arrived at the location where police had been struggling to handcuff Gray, he said an officer told him to wait while the scene was secured.The officer assured him that police would monitor Gray’s condition, he said.It’s common for police to instruct firefighters to wait a short distance away if there’s still violence at the scene of an arrest, Campbell told t...

Mattel introduces first Barbie with Down syndrome

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toy company Mattel revealed its first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome on Tuesday.Mattel collaborated with the National Down Syndrome Society to create the Barbie and “ensure the doll accurately represents a person with Down syndrome,” the company said.Design features of the new Barbie were made under guidance from NDSS, Mattel said. In addition to portraying some physical characteristics of a person with Down syndrome, the Barbie’s clothing and accessories carry special meaning.The blue and yellow on the doll’s dress, accompanied by butterflies, represent symbols and colors associated with Down syndrome awareness. And the three chevrons on the Barbie’s necklace represent how people with Down syndrome have three copies of their 21st chromosome, Mattel said.In addition, the Barbie wears ankle foot orthotics, which some children with Down syndrome use.“This means so much for our community, who for the first time, can play with a ...

30K pounds of manure spills onto Stevenson Expressway following semi rollover crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

HODGKINS, Ill. — Interstate 55 in Hodgkins is experiencing delays after Illinois State Police said that a semi-tractor trailer overturned near LaGrange Road, resulting in 30,000 pounds of manure spilling onto the expressway. The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m.Though no injuries were reported, ISP troopers say the southbound ramp to LaGrange North will be closed for at least two hours for recovery and cleanup.SkyCam9 was above the scene. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Dual degree program offers family hope, avenue forward in McHenry County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — If walls could talk, each one would tell a story in the Diaz home, stories of love, perseverance and things handed down, from generation to generation.A hardworking family with roots in Mexico, the Diaz clan moved to the United States searching for better opportunities."There definitely was a lot of uncertainty … fear and anxiety," said Marlen Diaz, a senior at Woodstock North High School. "My parents have a lot of friends who also undocumented and I see that they have very young kids and I think of myself at that age and how worried I was about deportation and raids and that stuff."Fear became motivation for Diaz when she learned that Woodstock North was offering a chance to earn both her high school diploma and a college associate's degree all at once."Marlen was one of 21 kids to sign on," said District 200 asst. Supt. Justin Smith. "It saves a ton of money for our students. Our students on average pay about $700 for two years of college out of pocket to earn 60...

COPA: CPD officer struck man in head with police radio at Midway Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:19 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video Tuesday of a Chicago Police Officer using excessive force on a Midway Airport passenger back in February.According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the Chicago Police Department notified COPA of an incident that took place at Midway Airport on Feb. 23, 2023. COPA: Chicago police officer under investigation since 2017 should be fired The incident began when an airline employee informed a Chicago police officer that an individual was drinking alcohol and disturbing passengers near a baggage claim carousel.An officer located the individual and asked them to leave the airport when a confrontation ensued. The officer can be seen in the video kicking the individual's bag and then striking them with a police radio.The victim requested an ambulance and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment due to sustaining a laceration to their head.Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to ...