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Native activist LaDuke resigns from environmental group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Native American activist Winona LaDuke has resigned as executive director of the Indigenous-led environmental group Honor the Earth after the organization lost a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee.LaDuke announced her resignation Wednesday in a Facebook post, saying she failed Margaret Campbell by not responding sufficiently to her allegations of sexual harassment by a coworker in 2014 and 2015. A Minnesota jury awarded Campbell $750,000 last week in the suit against Honor the Earth. “I take personal responsibility for the mistakes made,” LaDuke wrote. “I was the executive director, and it was my job to create a good foundation to heal and move forward.”LaDuke, 63, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is best known for leading opposition to Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline across northern Minnesota in 2021 and participated in protests against the Dakota Access pipeline near North Dakota’s Standing Rock Re...

Live Updates| Tiger Woods struggling early at the Masters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Latest from the first round of the Masters (all times local):11:40 a.m.Tiger Woods is off to a rough start at the Masters.The 47-year-old five-time champion is 2 over after five holes following bogeys at the par 4 third and fifth holes. Woods has fallen five shots behind leader Cameron Young, who leads the field at 3 under.Woods is competing in his 25th Masters.___10:40 a.am.Tiger Woods opened his 25th Masters with a par on the first hole at Augusta National while playing in front of a huge crowd, many stacked rows deep standing on tippy toes hoping to catch a glimpse of the generational star.Even before Woods took to the course, fans flocked to see him on the practice tee.The five-time champion is now 47 and admitted earlier this week he’s not sure how many more Masters tournaments he has in him.Woods, who walks with noticeable limp at times, is still recovering from a car crash in suburban Los Angeles where he crushed bones so badly in his legs that doctors...

Man found in crawl space grave killed over catalytic converter altercation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — After the body of a 36-year-old man was found in a “clandestine grave” in the crawl space of an Aurora condo Wednesday, police have released an affidavit explaining the man was allegedly killed by his "best friend" after he assumed he was a police informant. On Tuesday, Casie Bock, 29, was arrested after a Crime Stoppers tip was submitted about a man who had been murdered six to eight months ago and buried in her crawl space. King Soopers security guard fired after he was punched by shoplifter FOX31 obtained the arrest affidavit from the Aurora Police Department outlining the circumstances surrounding the homicide investigation. Police identified the victim as Karl Beaman Jr. Victim's relative had concerns about his whereaboutsOn April 1, an officer with APD received a call from a woman in Phoenix who identified herself as a relative of Beaman. They told the officer they were worried about him and had not talked to him since May, which was unusual.The relati...

‘It’s an especially bad time’: Tech layoffs are hitting ethics and safety teams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

(CNN) — In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, as online platforms began facing greater scrutiny for their impacts on users, elections and society, many tech firms started investing in safeguards.Big Tech companies brought on employees focused on election safety, misinformation and online extremism. Some also formed ethical AI teams and invested in oversight groups. These teams helped guide new safety features and policies. But over the past few months, large tech companies have slashed tens of thousands of jobs, and some of those same teams are seeing staff reductions.Twitter eliminated teams focused on security, public policy and human rights issues when Elon Musk took over last year. More recently, Twitch, a livestreaming platform owned by Amazon, laid off some employees focused on responsible AI and other trust and safety work, according to former employees and public social media posts. Microsoft cut a key team focused on ethical AI product development. And Facebo...

Over $69 million in illegal narcotics offloaded by Coast Guard at Port Everglades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded a big bust at Port Everglades.The crew of USS Farragut (DDG 99) offloaded approximately 2,314 kilograms of cocaine and 1,986 pounds of marijuana worth a combined $69 million, Tuesday. Courtesy USCGCourtesy USCGThe drugs were seized from four go-fast smuggling vessel interdictions by the Farragut crew with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 406 and Navy Combat Element (CEL), the Coast Guard said in a news release. “We were proud to work with the U.S. Coast Guard on the frontline of the threat that transnational drug trafficking presents to national security,” said Cmdr. Nicholas Gurley, commanding officer of USS Farragut. “Our experienced crew, HSM-60 CEL One and the members of our LEDET were essential to the success of this operation.”

3 men convicted in murder of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion face sentencing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

It is sentencing day for three men who were convicted in the murder of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion. Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were convicted of first-degree murder back in March. They are expected to be sentenced, Thursday afternoon. XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was murdered in 2018 at Riva Motorsports in Deerfield when the three men robbed and stole $53,000 from him. Onfroy was 23 years old.During their trial, prosecutors showed jurors photos and video of the three posing with wads of cash. The jury deliberated for more than a week before they handed out the guilty verdicts. The three will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

‘Something is going to go boom’: IMF chief warns of a more fragile global economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

The head of the International Monetary Fund warned of increasing vulnerabilities to the global economy as the world’s largest central banks continue to tamp down on stubbornly high inflation.“There is simply no way that interest rates would go up so much after being low for so long and there would be no vulnerabilities. Something is going to go boom,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told POLITICO’s Ryan Heath at an event hosted by the Meridian International Center ahead of the annual IMF-World Bank spring meetings next week in Washington.Georgieva cautioned that a more fragile global economy will bring slower growth and greater financial fragility. The IMF, which provides financial lifelines to countries in distress and monitors the health of the global economy, projects global growth to remain around 3 percent over the next five years, the lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990.But she said she did not think the world economy was headed toward a replay o...

Qatargate: Lead suspect Panzeri to be released from jail with electronic tag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

BRUSSELS — Pier Antonio Panzeri, the lead suspect in the so-called Qatargate corruption probe, is moving from jail to house arrest with an electronic monitor pending trial, his lawyer confirmed to POLITICO.The move comes after Panzeri struck a plea deal with Belgian investigators in January, admitting guilt and agreeing to share information about whom he bribed, in exchange for a reduced sentence. He was among the first to be arrested in the sprawling probe and is suspected of being the ringleader in a scheme where foreign countries, including Qatar, allegedly worked to influence the European Parliament through cash payments and perks.Panzeri’s lawyer, Laurent Kennes, told POLITICO that the former Italian MEP will be now detained at home, confirming a prior report by Belgian newspaper Le Soir. It’s not clear when exactly Panzeri will leave jail, but it would probably take place in the next couple of days, Kennes added. “It is normal for a person who ...

Dutch far-right MP fined for posting image with Nazi flag on Twitter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

A Dutch far-right lawmaker has been fined for publishing an edited photo of two government ministers next to a Nazi flag, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecution Service said in a statement Thursday.Pepijn van Houwelingen, of the populist Forum for Democracy Party (FVD), will have to pay a €450 fine.“After studying the file, the Public Prosecution Service concludes that this constitutes an insult from a legal point of view,” the statement read, adding that the picture was “unnecessarily offensive.”Last September, van Houwelingen posted a picture showing the Dutch health minister, Ernst Kuipers, lifting a flag showcasing UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as an edited version of the same image in which a Nazi flag had been added. The social affairs and employment minister, Karien van Gennip, can be seen looking up and smiling at the flag in the background.Van Houwelingen later deleted the tweet, but the two ministers filed a lawsuit, with the health m...

Worker in stable condition after being extricated from trench in Newton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:32 GMT

A DPW worker is in stable condition after being extricated from a trench on Bonita Street in Newton Thursday morning. Crews responding to the scene just after 9 a.m. found the worker buried up to his hip in a muddy ditch. “All of a sudden I saw one of the guys from the City of Newton screaming on the phone, ‘Hurry up, get here, get here, he’s fallen in the hole!'” neighbor Susan Delicata told 7NEWS. “I just came out and the two guys were trying to help to get him out of the hole,” she added. “I just saw the top of his head and it was all mud.”Newton Fire Chief Greg Gentile said the worker’s legs were buried and crews wasted no time rescuing him. “We found the victim conscious and breathing,” Gentile said. “There are probably minor injuries at this time.”Neighbors say the worker was in the trench fixing a leaking sewer line when the walls came caving in. “There will be an investigation and we’ll...