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Father arrested after New Orleans house fire killed his three children, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The father of three children who died in an overnight house fire in New Orleans was arrested Wednesday and faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated cruelty to juveniles, police said. The victims in the fire that was reported around midnight Tuesday included a 3-year-old boy who was found dead in the eastern New Orleans home. A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy were rescued but died later at a hospital.The father, Joseph Washington, 29, was arrested Wednesday afternoon. Washington’s car had been found Wednesday morning in the neighboring city of Gretna, partially submerged in the Mississippi River. New Orleans police and U.S. marshals spotted him in another vehicle Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 610 in New Orleans, according to a police news release. He got out of the car and attempted to escape by leaping from an interstate ramp, according to officials at a Wednesday news conference. Before being jailed, Washington was taken to a hospital ...

South Texas police officer was fatally shot during a pursuit of 2 men, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

SAN BENITO, Texas (AP) — A South Texas police officer was fatally shot after he joined an hourslong pursuit of two men who fled a traffic stop and led officers on a chase through several cities before they were arrested, authorities said.San Benito Lt. Milton Resendez was fatally shot as his vehicle crossed paths with the suspects’ vehicle late Tuesday night, police Chief Mario Perea said at a news conference Wednesday. Perea said it wasn’t known how many rounds were fired at Resendez’s vehicle but one round struck his front bumper and another went through the driver’s side door, hitting him just below his body armor in the abdomen. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.“He cared about everyone, he got along with everyone,” Perea said.Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said the pursuit began around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on South Padre Island when a truck carrying the two men, two women and two small children was pulled over for speeding on the beach. As the dri...

Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown reels in subscribers as it raises prices for its premium plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix on Wednesday disclosed summertime subscriber gains that surpassed industry analysts’ projections, signaling the video streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing is converting former freeloaders into paying customers.In an effort to bring in even more revenue, Netflix also announced it’s raising the price for its most expensive streaming service by $2 to $23 per month in the U.S. — a 10% increase — and its lowest-priced, ad-free streaming plan to $12 — another $2 bump. The $15.50 per month price for Netflix’s most popular streaming option in the U.S. will remain unchanged, as will a $7 monthly plan that includes intermittent commercials.It also raised its prices for subscribers in the U.K. and France.The company added nearly 8.8 million worldwide subscribers during the July-September period, more than tripling the number gained during the same time last year when Netflix was scrambling to recover from a downturn in customers during the ...

Thrift store chain case was no bargain for Washington attorney general; legal fees top $4.2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s long-running legal case against the thrift store chain Savers Value Village turned out to be no bargain, as the state has been ordered to pay the company nearly $4.3 million in legal fees.King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee issued the award on Tuesday, eight months after the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the attorney general’s claims that marketing practices by the thrift store chain were deceptive. The judge called the state’s lawsuit “needless.”“Defending and fully prevailing in this lawsuit was burdensome and costly,” Richard Medway, Savers Value Village general counsel, said in an emailed statement. “But the result underscored the many positive aspects of our unique business model, which benefits the environment, consumers, and our many nonprofit partners.”Savers Value Village, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, and operates more than 300 stores in the U.S., Canada and Au...

Brazil congressional report recommends charges against Bolsonaro over riots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian congressional panel on Wednesday accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of instigating the country’s Jan. 8 riots and recommended that he be charged with attempting to stage a coup.An inquiry panel of senators and representatives mostly allied with the current leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in last fall’s election — voted 20-11 to adopt the damning report drafted by Sen. Eliziane Gama.The move was largely symbolic because it amounts to a recommendation for police and prosecutors to investigate, and federal law enforcement officials separately have already been investigating Bolsonaro’s possible role in inciting the Jan. 8 uprising.Bolsonaro has denied involvement in the rioting, which took place more than a week after the right-wing leader had quietly left the country to stay in Florida while refusing to attend Lula’s inauguration.“It’s completely biased,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday of the inquiry, in co...

Concert Review: Lauryn Hill’s 25th ‘Miseducation’ celebration passes with a grade curve

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Twenty-five years of support. 25 years of love… it’s our first show, it’s a little challenging because we’re home, and I’ve been emotional.”Those were the words Lauryn Hill spoke to an adoring crowd as she kicked off the “Ms. Lauryn Hill & Fugees: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour.” Throughout the night, the artist who now styles herself as Ms. Lauryn Hill, re-lived songs from her iconic album in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, located about 20 minutes away from her hometown of East Orange.Standing regally with flowy black pants, jeweled sunglasses and a white shirt with oversized balloon sleeves covered by an enormous, reddish floral-like cape, Hill triumphantly proclaimed, “New Jersey, I’m home!”As a packed house stood on their feet, the eclectic singer, flanked by a sizeable band which included a string section, began with a powerful rendition of “Everything is Everything.” Accompanying Hill were marching band students from her alma ma...

Complainant’s ex-husband, mother testify at Peter Nygard sexual assault trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

TORONTO — The ex-husband of a woman who has accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault testified Wednesday that he and the complainant agreed she was “absolutely” taken advantage of, but they struggled to determine whether what happened could be considered rape at the time.Societal attitudes were different more than three decades ago, he testified, and they both wondered if her allegations against a powerful fashion mogul could lead to a conviction.  “She asked me point blank, ‘Do you think I was raped?’ And we talked about that a long time. It’s 30 years ago, so society’s attitudes have changed,” he said of the conversation that took place during a date in the early 1990s. “We both knew it was wrong, we both knew she had been absolutely taken advantage of, if not raped, but we both had a hard time wrestling with the fact of if she was or not.”The identities of the complainant and the man are protected by a publication ban. Nyg...

Texas city settles lawsuit over police response to Trump supporters surrounding Biden bus in 2020

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas city on Wednesday agreed to a $175,000 settlement with passengers on one of President Joe Biden’s campaign buses in 2020, including Democrat Wendy Davis, who accused police of ignoring their calls for help after a caravan of Donald Trump supporters surrounded them on a highway. The episode took place days before the November election as the bus approached Austin. Video that circulated widely on social media at the time showed trucks with large Trump flags driving close to the bus, which had campaign surrogates and staffers on board but not the candidates. A lawsuit filed by Davis, a former state senator who ran for Texas governor in 2014, and the other passengers accused San Marcos police of ignoring “acts of violent political intimidation” and abdicating their responsibility by not sending an escort despite multiple 911 calls made from the bus. Under the settlement, the City of San Marcos also agreed to give officers additional training that inclu...

Armed robbers target Tigers’ Dominican complex in latest robbery of MLB facility in the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Detroit Tigers complex in the Dominican Republic was targeted Wednesday in the latest robbery of a Major League Baseball facility in the country, police said.One man was apprehended and police are searching for four others who entered the complex with guns, restrained the security guard and went to the players’ rooms to steal valuables and cash, Dominican Police spokesman Diego Pesqueira told The Associated Press.The robbery happened days after the St. Louis Cardinals complex in the country was hit. The facilities of the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Guardians were also robbed recently, a person familiar with the robberies told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the details publicly.Nobody was hurt in the Tigers’ and Cardinals’ robberies, authorities said.Dominican police are investigating whether the robberies are connected. Five men also broke into the Car...

US resumes deportation flights to Venezuela with more than 100 migrants on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:07 GMT

MAIQUETIA, Venezuela (AP) — Deportation flights of Venezuelans from the U.S. resumed Wednesday with a first plane of more than a hundred migrants landing back in their economically troubled country under the Biden administration’s latest efforts to deal with swelling numbers of asylum-seekers. This is the first time in years that U.S. immigration authorities are deporting people to the South American nation, marking a significant concession by the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to a longtime adversary.The first plane, a Boeing 737 jet, took off from the Texas border city of Harlingen and touched down in Miami before arriving hours later outside Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. The roughly 130 passengers were Venezuelan women and men who were shuttled to the plane on buses, and wore wrist and ankle restraints. As they boarded, U.S. immigration officers patted them down.“This flight to Venezuela is the first I’ve seen in my career of an entire charte...