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Commission weighs whether to discipline Illinois judge who reversed rape conviction

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A western Illinois judge could face removal from office after a judicial oversight body considered allegations this week that he circumvented the law when he decided to reverse a rape conviction.The move sparked outrage in the victim’s hometown of Quincy, Illinois, and beyond.The Illinois Courts Commission, which rules on complaints against judges in the state and has the power to remove, suspend, or reprimand them, heard arguments in Chicago on Wednesday over the allegations Adams County Judge Robert Adrian acted with willful misconduct by throwing out his own decision to avoid sending the defendant to prison.Adrian presided over a three-day bench trial in which Drew Clinton of Taylor, Michigan, was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl during a graduation party in May 2021.In October of that year, Adrian found Clinton — who was 18 — guilty of criminal sexual assault. The offense carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison in Illinois.But at Clinto...

Democrats postpone a subpoena vote in the Supreme Court ethics probe after a blowup with Republicans

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly adjourned a meeting on Thursday without holding an expected vote on subpoenas for two conservatives who have helped arrange luxury travel and other benefits for Supreme Court justices.The panel’s Democratic chairman, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, gaveled out after Republicans on the committee made clear they would call for subpoena votes on a raft of Democratic officials and others, a protest of the planned subpoenas for Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the panel, warned majority Democrats that the hearing would be contentious.Jammed with amendments and the possibility of hours of debate, Durbin gaveled out. He said in a statement after the meeting that there were “scheduling issues” but that they would try again. “We will continue our efforts to authorize subpoenas in the near future,” Durbin said. “The highest co...

Online gaming operator fined $150K for failing to protect player from massive losses: AGCO

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

An online gaming operator in Ontario has been hit with a fine of $150,000 for failing to help a player who was flagged as “high-risk” from accruing massive gambling losses, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said in a release Thursday.The AGCO levied the financial penalties after claiming PointsBet Canada Operations 1 Inc., a registered internet gaming operator, failed to meet the province’s responsible gambling requirements.More specifically, the AGCO says the company failed to “intervene and provide assistance to a player who was potentially experiencing gambling harms. In this case, a player lost over $500,000 in under three months,” the AGCO said.“The player was flagged as potentially high-risk by the operator’s systems on multiple occasions, including due to incurring significant losses and making repeated withdrawal cancellations,” the AGCO added. “Despite this, no interventions were provided by the gaming site o...

Denys Arcand on lampooning political correctness with ‘Testament’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

Veteran filmmaker Denys Arcand is having a change of heart.“My energy comes from the public, which is absolutely wonderful,” the 82-year-old Québécois director says in a video call from Montreal. His latest film, “Testament,” expands theatrically in Canada on Friday after proving a hit in Quebec.“It makes me softer and more at ease with mankind.”The public is giving Arcand lots of energy, as “Testament” earned an impressive $400,000 during its opening weekend in Quebec last month and has already crossed the $1.5 million mark. It’s the strongest opening for a Quebecois film since the pandemic began.“Testament” marks another satire from Arcand after 1986’s “The Decline of the American Empire” and 2003’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” which represents Canada’s only Oscar win in the best international film category.Arcand’s latest film roasts political correctness as septuagenarian archivist Jean-Michel, played by Rémy Girard, sees a group of protesters rally outside his retirement home. As...

As Hollywood scrambles to get back to work, stars and politicians alike react to strike ending

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

Hollywood jumped into planning mode Thursday at the news of a tentative agreement between striking actors and the major entertainment companies. After 118 days of most productions shut down and most stars unable to promote projects, publicists, studios and awards strategists went into hyperdrive plotting out how to best use their newly available talent for what’s left of the year — and awards season.Just hours after the tentative agreement was announced, “The Marvels” star Iman Vellani was already being offered to press for interviews. The Walt Disney Co. movie, which cost over $200 million to produce, opens this weekend with showtimes starting as early as Thursday afternoon. Searchlight Pictures also started actively planning things for Michael Fassbender, who stars in Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins,” out next week. One of the top priorities for the industry is getting actors back on set, whether for major blockbusters like “Gladiator 2” or “Deadpool 3″ to try to...

Biden’s team says progress on big public works projects may hinge on the outcome of the 2024 vote

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has started 40,000 construction projects since the passage of major infrastructure legislation two years ago and is seeking to make the case that continued progress could depend on keeping Joe Biden in the White House after 2024. Biden has long emphasized the bipartisan appeal of the $1 trillion investment, with governors, mayors and county officials from both parties keen to build roads, bridges, ports, rail, internet and other projects. His administration says getting that money out the door has required the hiring of 6,100 federal officials and meant a new degree of cooperation across governments that the outcome of next year’s presidential election could put at risk.White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu said the occupant of the Oval Office increasingly matters. Some leading Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, opposed the law or now want to cut money for infrastructure services.“For cities, towns, ...

NY is developing education program on harms of medically unnecessary surgery on intersex children

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is requiring state health officials to develop an outreach program to educate parents and doctors about the harmful impacts of medically unnecessary treatments performed on young children born intersex.The measure, which was signed into law on Tuesday by Governor Kathy Hochul, aims to bring awareness to people born with genitalia, chromosomes or reproductive organs that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. New York City Council implemented a similar measure in 2021. Advocates for the statewide legislation say the medically unnecessary operations on infants and young children born intersex come with a slew of potential negative impacts that parents and doctors must be aware of.“This education will be key to helping parents understand that surgery is permanent and can cause irreversible physical and psychological effects,” State Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright said in a statement. Various health and human rights organizations, including the Ph...

Jury rejects insanity defense for man convicted of wedding shooting

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury on Thursday rejected an insanity defense for a man convicted of shooting and wounding a bishop and assaulting the bride and groom at a church wedding ceremony in New Hampshire. Dale Holloway, 41, who acted as his own attorney, had pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the October 2019 shootings. He said he was mentally unstable at the time.“I’ve been insane before this even happened,” Holloway told the jury. The shootings happened nearly two weeks after Holloway’s stepfather, a pastor at the church, was killed by the son of the groom. The son was later sentenced to prison. A separate celebration of life ceremony for the pastor had been planned at the church for later that day.The jury in Nashua had already found Holloway guilty on Tuesday of one of two attempted murder charges and several assault charges. After deliberating for about an hour Thursday, the foreperson answered “no” when asked if the panel had found clear and convincing evidence th...

Satellite photos analyzed by AP show an axis of Israeli push earlier this week into the Gaza Strip

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli troops have pushed into Gaza City along a key coastal road on the Mediterranean Sea as part of their war on Hamas, according to satellite images from earlier this week analyzed on Thursday by The Associated Press. Monday’s images from Planet Labs PBC show a moonscape of impact craters from missile strikes and smoke rising over the northern reaches of Gaza City, the besieged territory’s largest urban zone. The images also show previous positions of Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers on one of three axes of attack used to cut the city off from the rest of the Gaza Strip. The city has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee it after a month of war since Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that killed some 1,400 people. That assault sparked a punishing campaign of airstrikes and the Israeli military offensive into the Gaza Strip that has so far killed over 10,500 people — two-thirds of them w...

Feds, mayors don’t want to ‘slow things down’ after premiers criticize housing deals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:24:37 GMT

OTTAWA — The mayor of Halifax, which recently secured a deal with Ottawa to fast-track the building of thousands of new homes, says he was caught off guard by recent complaints from premiers over being left out of funding agreements between the federal government and cities.Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who has been travelling across Canada to highlight such agreements made directly with cities, says he was also surprised by the backlash — but is not planning to back down.The mayor of Winnipeg, which still hoping for its own request to be approved, says he is more focused on getting the money quickly, rather than which level of government pays the bills.The latest irritant in the relationship between Ottawa and the premiers came Monday. After their meeting in Halifax, provincial and territorial leaders released a communiqué that called for federal funding “that flows exclusively through provinces and territories” to address housing needs and support long-term cap...