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Jury rules against ex-Haitian mayor, orders $15M in damages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

A federal jury on Tuesday ruled in favor of three men who said in a lawsuit that the former mayor of their small town in Haiti subjected them or their relatives to a campaign of political persecution that included a killing, attempted killings and torture.The jury in U.S. District Court in Boston also awarded the plaintiffs more than $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages.Jean Morose Viliena, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. who now lives in Malden, Massachusetts, was sued in 2017 by three Haitian citizens who say they or their relatives were persecuted by him and his political allies.The lawsuit was filed under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991, which allows civil lawsuits to be filed in the U.S. against foreign officials who allegedly committed wrongdoing in their homeland if all legal avenues in their country have been exhausted. It was filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco.The trial shined a spotlight on the wider issue of p...

Big Apple epicenter of Trump fate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

As the Manhattan DA fidgets, Republican contenders in the 2024 presidential race sized up the impact a prosecution of Donald Trump could have on a campaign in which the former president is a leading contender.Trump over the weekend claimed without evidence that he would be arrested on Tuesday, but that prediction came and went. A Manhattan grand jury did appear to take an important step forward on Monday by hearing from a witness favorable to Trump, presumably so prosecutors could ensure the panel had a chance to consider any testimony supporting his version of events.The next steps were unclear, and it was uncertain if additional witnesses might be summoned. But a city mindful of the riot by Trump loyalists at the U.S. Capitol more than two years ago took steps to protect itself from any violence that could accompany the unprecedented prosecution of a former president.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected GOP presidential candidate, criticized the investigation but also jabbed at ...

Dolphins’ Andrew Van Ginkel staying in Miami after taking free agency visits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel’s productive four-year run with the Dolphins once appeared might end this offseason, but now is set to continue in Miami.Van Ginkel is re-signing with the Dolphins, according to a league source.Van Ginkel’s move comes after reported visits with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders during the first week of free agency and Saturday news that the Dolphins signed former Broncos and Steelers pass rusher Malik Reed at the same position.Van Ginkel came into his own in the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Dolphins. Between those two seasons, he earned 25 of his 31 career starts with 79 tackles, 9 ½ sacks, four forced fumbles and a 78-yard fumble return for a touchdown.The former fifth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin in 2019, the first draft of ex-coach Brian Flores’ tenure leading Miami, lost defensive playing time in 2022. Ahead of the season, the Dolphins added veteran Melvin Ingram to work opposite budding 2021 first-r...

Cases of deadly, drug-resistant fungal infection on the rise, CDC says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

David Matthews | (TNS) New York Daily NewsThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Monday that cases of Candida auris, or C. auris — a potentially deadly and drug-resistant fungal infection — are on the rise at U.S. health-care facilities.New CDC data published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine showed that the number of infections has grown since it was first detected in the U.S. in 2013. The rate has increased rapidly in recent years, however.There were 756 reported cases in 2020 and 1,471 reported cases in 2021 — a 95% increase. According to preliminary CDC data, from January to December 2022, the U.S. reported 2,377 cases and 5,754 screening cases.C. auris infections often cause no symptoms among healthy people, but can lead to serious complications among individuals with weakened immune systems, especially those who are hospitalized or in nursing homes. The complications can affect the blood, heart, brain, eyes, bones and other parts of the body, accor...

Derrick Jones Jr.’s game-saving block shows the flexibility needed to keep the Chicago Bulls afloat in the East

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

Chicago Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t have any doubt in his mind.When Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden attempted to wriggle past Bulls forward Patrick Williams, Jones had already drifted into the paint, waiting to pounce on the shot that was sure to come with 14 seconds left in the second overtime.If Harden attempted to throw down a dunk, Jones knew he might be forced to foul. But instead, Harden opted for a lay-in, letting the ball roll gently off his fingers. It was a mistake — and one Jones that celebrated: “I’m glad he did.”The ball barely had time to begin its trajectory toward the rim before Jones crushed it away, his left palm slapping the leather to fend off one of Philadelphia’s last gasps of the game.Jones was not the obvious first — or second or third — candidate to save a double-overtime win over the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. He logged less than three minutes against both Miami and Minnesota,...

What are the risks of the Jets signing Odell Beckham Jr.?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

A week ago, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. worked out in Arizona in front of an estimated 14 teams, including the Jets.But Beckham continues to wait for a lucrative contract offer from a club.Recently, a report from ProFootballTalk said that the free agent is looking for a contract worth $20 million annually. However, Beckham denied this in a tweet.“I’m just so confused where the quote is from me that said I want 20,” Beckham said. “All I’m sayin is 4 AINT enough.”It remains to be seen what type of offer Beckham gets, but the Jets are rumored to be interested. ESPN reported that Aaron Rodgers gave the Jets, who are in talks with the Packers to acquire the four-time NFL MVP, a wish list of players he wants the team to sign. Beckham was reportedly one of the names on Rodgers’ list.While he denied having a wish list, Rodgers seemed intrigued about playing with Beckham.“Who wouldn’t want to have Odell on their team,” Rodgers s...

Thousands of SDG&E customers lose power across county

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers were without power Tuesday as a powerful storm moves through the region.According to the utility company’s outage map, approximately 2,701 customers were affected in various communities around San Diego County.The most significant outage was reported in the Encinitas area where 4,013 customers were without power. The majority of customers in this area had power back around 12:45 p.m.In El Cajon, another large outage was impacting 1,384 customers. Weather radar: Track the storm The outage count is current as of 12:45 p.m. The majority of the outages began sometime between 11 and 11:30 a.m., according to the outage map. The outage count was upwards of 8,000 around 12 p.m.Several communities ranging from San Ysidro in the South Bay, to Santee in East County and Valley Center in North County are experiencing various degrees of power outages. Roads closed around San Diego County as crews prepare for more flooding SDG&...

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates clash over abortion, maps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal candidate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court didn’t back down from her support for abortion rights or her belief that the state’s Republican-drawn legislative maps are unfair during a debate Tuesday in which her GOP-backed opponent accused her of being “bought and paid for” by Democrats.Janet Protasiewicz called her conservative opponent, Dan Kelly, “a true threat to our democracy” because he consulted with Republicans about their plan to seat fake electors to support Donald Trump after he lost Wisconsin in 2020.Whoever wins the April 4 election for a seat vacated by the retirement of a conservative justice will determine majority control of the court for at least the next two years, including leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Control of the court, which came within a vote of overturning Trump’s 2020 defeat in the state, could be crucial, with abortion access, legislative redistricting, voting rights and other key...

Strong magnitude 6.5 quake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices and frightening people even in remote villages. At least two people died.More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services told The Associated Press. “These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,” he said. Faizi said most were later discharged from the hospital.Faizi said two people died, including a girl who was killed in a stampede of fleeing people, and a man whose roof collapsed on him. Twelve others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said several mu...

Biden creates national monuments, marine sanctuary in West

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. Biden called the conservation measures part of an effort to “protect the heart and soul of our national pride.”Speaking at a White House summit on conservation action, Biden said the new national monuments are among the “natural treasures” that “define our identity as a nation. They’re a birthright we have to pass down to generation after generation.”“Our national wonders are literally the envy of the world,” Biden said in a speech at the Interior Department. “They’ve always been and always will be central to our heritage as a people and essential to our identity as a nation.”Biden designated Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that Native Americans consider sacred, as a national monument, along with the new Castner Range National Mon...