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Whitmer signs stricter gun background check, storage bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Anyone who wants to buy a gun in Michigan will have to undergo a background check, and gun owners will be required to safely store all firearms and ammunition when around minors under new laws signed Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.The signing took place on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, where a gunman killed three students and injured five others two months ago. Flanked by students and gun safety advocates, Whitmer, a graduate of MSU, told the more than 100 people in attendance to “buckle up, we’re going to continue this work.”“Gun violence is a scourge that is unique to this country,” Whitmer said. “We don’t have to live like this and today, we are showing we are not going to anymore.”The legislation is part of a sweeping 11-bill gun safety package that was introduced in the weeks following the MSU shooting but was predominately drafted after the 2021 Oxford High School shooting in which four students were killed. The bills saw l...

Emotions high at French protests over Macron’s pension plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Protesters opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age to 64 marched Thursday in cities and towns around France, in a final show of anger before a crucial decision on whether the measure meets constitutional standards.Demonstrators targeted the Central Bank offices in Paris and briefly invaded the headquarters of luxury conglomerate LVMH — but their attention increasingly centered on the Constitutional Council, which is to decide Friday whether to nix any or all parts of the legislation.Activists dumped bags of garbage outside the council’s columned façade in the morning. Later, another crowd holding flares faced off with a large contingent of riot police that rushed to protect the building.Paris police banned all gatherings outside the council from Thursday evening through Saturday morning, in an attempt to reduce pressure on the council members as they make their decision.The number of protesters in cities nationwide Thursday ...

Hundreds of thousands of dimes stolen from parked truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A truck containing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of dimes was broken into while it was parked overnight at a Philadelphia store, and authorities say the thieves apparently made off with at least $100,000.The theft was reported around 6 a.m. Thursday. The tractor-trailer driver had picked up about $750,000 in dimes from the Philadelphia Mint on Wednesday, authorities said, and was planning to transport them to Florida on Thursday.It’s not clear how many people may have been involved in the theft or if they knew what the truck contained. Responding police officers found hundreds of dimes scattered all over the parking lot, and authorities were still trying to determine how much money was stolen.No arrests have been made.The Associated Press

Navy veteran who stormed Capitol gets 3 years on gun charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former Navy reservist who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison on firearms charges. The sentence U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff imposed for Hatchet Speed in federal court in Alexandria was just five months less than the term sought by federal prosecutors and much longer than the one-year term sought by Speed’s lawyers.Speed, 41, of McLean, is a military veteran who held top-secret clearances while working for a defense contractor.The gun charges against him in Virginia are separate from charges brought in Washington, D.C., for obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College vote. He will sentenced on those charges next month; sentencing guidelines in that case call for a term of nearly five to six years.Speed’s lawyers asked the judge not to be prejudiced against him because of his in...

With ‘Camelot,’ a legendary fight director exits the fray

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In a hushed and empty Broadway theater, two men appear onstage in street clothes, each wielding fearsome-looking broad swords. One lunges at the other, who quickly strikes back. They exchange a flurry of slices and counter-slices, with the screech of metal on metal.Watching it with a smile is B.H. Barry, the legendary fight director who is choreographing this clash for a lush new revival of “Camelot” at Lincoln Center Theater. An hour before every show, he leads the actors through their movements, like a conductor with an orchestra of lethal instruments.“I’m having fun,” he says. “It’s back to being an acting scene and not a fight scene, which is what you want. Ideally, I want it to be when the audience doesn’t know what I’ve started and what I’ve finished.”The fight scene he created for “Camelot” is pure poetry, a mix of muscle, humor, ballet, pride and aluminum swords. There are actually three mini-fights, with escalating levels of intensity, until the ...

Missouri man freed from prison after 40 years files lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who spent more than 40 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit alleges in a lawsuit that Kansas City police conducted a reckless investigation that led to his conviction.Kevin Strickland, 63, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Jackson County Court against the Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners, which oversees the police department, and five officers who have retired.Strickland alleges that officers attributed false statements to him during the investigation and pressured the only eyewitness to the murders to identify him as the killer, The Kansas City Star reported.The Kansas City Police Department said it does not comment on pending lawsuits. Strickland was released from prison in November 2021 after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted of killing three people in Kansas City in 1978. That decision followed a hearing held after Jackson County prosecutors said a review of the case led them to believe Strickland was innocent. St...

Earthquake off B.C. coast measuring 6 little felt, no tsunami expected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

VANCOUVER — An earthquake measuring 6 has shaken the seabed a few hundred kilometres off Vancouver Island.The National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska says a dangerous wave is not expected from the quake.  The U.S. Geological Survey website shows the quake was only lightly felt in areas ranging from Port Hardy, just over 200 kilometres from the epicentre, to Kitimat, more than 500 kilometres away.Earthquakes Canada estimated the quake that happened at about 8 a.m. local time was magnitude 5.8, while the tsunami warning centre said it reached 6.2. The earthquake was centred along the eastern edge of the Juan de Fuca plate off Vancouver Island. Quakes are common off British Columbia’s coast, although not usually of this size, as movement from several different plates and subduction zones set off thousands of temblors every year.The U.S. Geological Survey says this quake was also felt along the American northwest coast from Washington state to as far south as Corona, Calif., alm...

California Senate session relocated due to ‘credible threat’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A “credible threat” forced California senators out of the Capitol and into a new location for their Thursday session, officials said. State senators and their staff members were notified about the threat involving the building in an email from Senate Secretary Erika Contreras. “The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has notified the Senate of a threat they consider to be credible involving the Capitol,” Contreras wrote. “The CHP and security partners are present in higher numbers in the Capitol area, and are alert of the situation.”The California Highway Patrol, which serves as the state police, did not provide more details when reached by The Associated Press. Contreras said the session has been moved to another state building nearby. The session, set to start at 9 a.m., was delayed by 45 minutes. She instructed staff who had not yet arrived at work to stay home and told those already in their offices to remain in place.Leaders of the state Assembly have not ...

1 charged after stealing Purolator truck, crashing into vehicles in Scarborough

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

One person is facing charges after they allegedly stole a Purolator truck and went on a joy ride that led to the suspect crashing into multiple vehicles in Scarborough.Officers confirmed with CityNews they were called to assist York Regional Police in pursuit of a stolen delivery vehicle around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.It’s alleged that the suspect was driving a stolen Purolator vehicle and had been wanted on multiple arrest warrants in York Region.A Toronto police spokesperson said the suspect crashed into multiple vehicles before being stopped at Brimley and Ellesmere Roads near Scarborough Town Centre.The suspect was taken into police custody, and no injuries were reported.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Saskatchewan to promote Liberal budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:55 GMT

REGINA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be in Saskatchewan today to sell the Liberal government’s new budget.Trudeau is to visit a Regina grocery store and meet with families and employees to discuss the budget’s grocery rebate.He is also to make an announcement on measures to make life more affordable for Canadians.Later in the day, Trudeau is to meet with students and other community members.The Prime Minister will not be meeting with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe during his stop in the province. Moe’s office was notified in advance that Trudeau would be in Regina but the two leaders weren’t able to meet due to scheduling constraints, the premier’s office said. Moe’s office said the premier wanted to discuss comments federal Justice Minister David Lametti made about the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, clean electricity regulations and infrastructure funding.Trudeau’s January stop in Saskatchewan caused conflict with the premier after ...