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Venezuelan woman pleads guilty in Vermont case of child sex abuse video

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Venezuelan woman who was accused of conspiring with a Vermont man to kidnap and kill a man in South America has agreed to plead guilty to a charge related to a child sex abuse video.Moraima Escarlet Vasquez Flores, also known as Johana Martinez, 40, pleaded guilty on Thursday to aiding and abetting the receipt of child pornography.Last year, Sean Fiore, 39, of Burlington, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to federal charges that he commissioned Vasquez Flores to make videos of a boy being tortured as well as the torture and killing of a man, records show.Vasquez Flores was arrested in Colombia and extradited to Vermont last year. She originally pleaded not guilty to four federal charges in April 2022 and has been detained ever since. A federal judge on Thursday ordered her held pending sentencing in September.Court records say Vasquez Flores sent Fiore a hyperlink in 2018 to a video file depicting what prosecutor...

Recent NL East history should serve as motivation for the struggling Mets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

WASHINGTON — This time last year, the Mets were the talk of baseball. They looked as though they were running away with the NL East.Now, they limp into Washington to face the lowly Nationals, a team that has all but been out of postseason contention since Opening Day. However, the Mets (18-20) have only won two more games than the Nationals (16-21). They’re 3-7 in the last 10 games, 4-13 in their last 17 and they’ve lost their last five series, marking the first time they’ve lost five straight since 2012.“It doesn’t matter where you are in May,” Pete Alonso told the Daily News recently. “It matters where you’re at for Game 162.”While this might true, this dismal early-season stretch has left many wondering what happened to a team that won 101 games last season.The circumstances are different this year and though the roster was constructed to model the team from last year, some of the personnel is different as well. And it s...

Biscochitos: New Mexico’s state cookie strikingly similar to Jewish korzhiki

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

What’s in a name? Maybe a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but when Elderhostel changed its name to Road Scholar, well, which one would you rather attend?As I write this, I am in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with my friends Anna and Felix Livits of Fullerton on a learning adventure with Road Scholar, the nonprofit educational travel organization for seniors. We are here to learn about New Mexico’s Converso and Crypto-Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition. (Conversos were forced to convert to Christianity; Crypto-Jews have kept their Judaism a secret for centuries.)One of our fascinating lecturers was Isabelle Medina Sandoval, author of “Guardians of Hidden Treasures,” a historical novel about generations of Crypto-Jews, beginning in Spain in the late 1300s and ending in New Mexico. They hid from the Inquisition, seeking freedom in the New World.Dr. Sandoval’s own converted Catholic family, whose ancestors originated from Toledo, Spain, came to Ne...

Oregon GOP walkout threatens abortion, trans bills — and senators’ own careers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

By ANDREW SELSKY (Associated Press)SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A boycott by Republican state senators in Oregon threatens to derail hundreds of bills, including on gun control and abortion rights, as a deadline looms that could also upend the protesters’ political futures. Democrats control the Statehouse in Oregon. But the GOP is leveraging rules that require two-thirds of lawmakers be present to pass legislation, which means Democrats need a certain number of Republicans to be there too.Republican and Democratic leaders in the Oregon Legislature met behind closed doors for a second day Thursday to try to bridge the divide as the boycott entered its ninth straight day, with partisan bills on abortion, gender-affirming care and gun control on the line. Lawmakers with 10 unexcused absences are barred from reelection under a constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly last November by voters weary of repeated walkouts. Several statehouses around the nation, including in Montana ...

Border appears calm after lifting of pandemic asylum restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

By VALERIE GONZALEZ, ELLIOT SPAGAT and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO (Associated Press)EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The border between the U.S. and Mexico was relatively calm Friday, offering few signs of the chaos that had been feared following a rush by worried migrants to enter the U.S. before the end of pandemic-related immigration restrictions.Less than 24 hours after the rules known as Title 42 were lifted, migrants and government officials were still assessing the effect of the change and the new regulations adopted by President Joe Biden’s administration to stabilize the region.“We did not see any substantial increase in immigration this morning,” said Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security. He said the agency did not have specific numbers because it was early in the day.Migrants along the border continued to wade into the Rio Grande to take their chances getting into the U.S. while defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched ...

Chicago Bears are favorites in 6 games and a short underdog in another 6: ‘They’re going to have a better season than last year’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

Hopes for the Chicago Bears are up at Halas Hall, and those positive vibes are reflected in the wagering community as well.DraftKings set odds for all 272 NFL regular-season games after the schedule was revealed Thursday night. The Bears are favorites in six games and short underdog (between +1 and +2) in another six games.That is a sign of belief in the offseason moves and potential improvement by quarterback Justin Fields for a team that finished 3-14 in 2022 and closed the season with a 10-game losing streak — the longest in franchise history.“When you look at the schedule itself, it’s not that strong,” said Johnny Avello, the director of race and sports operations for DraftKings. “ They play the AFC West and there are a couple of teams there that are strong. They play the Packers (twice) and they’re losing Aaron Rodgers, but they weren’t that good with Rodgers last year. They have to be better than the Packers you would assume.“The...

Daniel Penny freed on $100,000 bond in chokehold death of Jordan Neely aboard Manhattan subway train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

Janon Fisher, Thomas Tracy, Molly Crane-Newman, Rebecca White, Larry McShane | New York Daily NewsNEW YORK — Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine caught on video placing Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold aboard a Manhattan subway train, was released on $100,000 bond Friday after surrendering to police.The 24-year-old defendant arrived in handcuffs for his first court appearance around 12:05 p.m., led into the courtroom from a holding pen. He was ordered to surrender his passport and cannot leave New York without permission.Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said prosecutors reviewed video footage and interviewed several eyewitnesses, including responding officers, before a charge of second-degree manslaughter was brought.“The defendant approached Mr. Neely from behind and placed him in a chokehold, taking him down to the ground,” the prosecutor said. “… At some point, Mr. Neely stopped moving. The defendant continued the chokehold for several minutes.”He added the white def...

Honduran teen dies in US immigration custody, weeks after crossing southern border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A 17-year-old boy from Honduras died this week in U.S. immigration custody, American and Honduran officials said Friday, underscoring concerns about a strained immigration system as the Biden administration manages the end of asylum restrictions known as Title 42. The teenager was identified as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, according to a tweet from Honduran foreign relations minister Enrique Reina. Maradiaga was detained at a facility in Safety Harbor, Florida, Reina said.He entered the U.S. several weeks ago and died Wednesday, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.No cause of death was immediately available nor were circumstances of any illness or medical treatment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for the facility where Maradiaga was held, said in a statement that a review of health care records was underway as was an investigat...

Tens of thousands march against Serbia’s populist leadership following mass shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and blocked a key bridge Friday in the second large protest since two mass shootings that rattled the Balkan country and left 17 people dead, including many children.Protesters gathered in front of the Parliament building before filing by the government’s headquarters and onto a highway bridge spanning the Sava River, where evening commuters had to turn their vehicles around to avoid getting stuck. At the head of the column was a black banner reading “Serbia Against Violence.”As the demonstrators passed the government buildings, many chanted slogans decrying Serbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, whom they blame for creating an atmosphere of hopelessness and division in the country that they say indirectly led to the mass shootings.Pro-government media criticized the bridge blockade, with the Novosti daily newspaper reporting that “harassment has begun, hooligans ha...

Associated Press photographer Elise Amendola, who documented decades of sports and news, dies at 70

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:50 GMT

Renowned Associated Press photojournalist Elise Amendola — a determined, joyous and patient journalist who masterfully photographed pivotal global news and sporting events spanning decades — has died. She was 70.Amendola, who recently retired from the AP, died Thursday at her home in North Andover, Massachusetts, after a 13-year battle with ovarian cancer, her wife and fellow photographer Mary Schwalm said Friday. Amendola documented many important moments in history, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Boston Marathon bombing, the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, U.S. presidential campaigns, and many Super Bowls, Olympics, World Series and other major sporting events. “I owe the AP for our beautiful life,” Schwalm told the AP Friday. “I first met Elise when I was a photo runner at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. By Athens in 2004, I was a staff photo editor on the sports desk and we’d become friends. I had the pleasure to edit her photos … ...