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Supreme Court rejects appeal of former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin ‘s appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd.The justices did not comment in leaving in place state court rulings affirming Chauvin’s conviction and 22 1/2-year sentence. Chauvin’s lawyers argued that their client was denied a fair trial in 2021 because of pretrial publicity and concerns for violence in the event of an acquittal. Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pressed a knee on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes on the street outside a convenience store where Floyd tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death touched off protests worldwide, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism that is still playing out.Chauvin is separately appealing his conviction on federal civil ...

Primaris REIT buying Halifax shopping complex for $370 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

TORONTO — Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust says it has signed a deal to buy a shopping centre complex in Halifax for $370 million.The deal includes the Halifax Shopping Centre and the Annex, which sits adjacent to the mall.The Halifax Shopping Centre is an enclosed shopping centre and its tenants include Sport Chek, Zara, Apple and Aritzia.The Annex is an open air centre with tenants including Walmart, Sobeys and Dollarama.Under the agreement, Primaris will pay $200 million in cash, $45 million in series A units in the trust and $125 million in exchangeable preferred units.The deal is expected to close on Nov. 30.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:PMZ.UN)The Canadian Press

Carlton Pearson, founder of Oklahoma megachurch who supported gay rights, dies at age 70

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a former megachurch in Oklahoma who fell from favor and was branded a heretic after he embraced the idea that there is no hell and supported gay rights has died, his agent said Monday.Bishop Carlton Pearson died Sunday night in hospice care in Tulsa due to cancer, said his agent, Will Bogle. Pearson was 70.Early in his ministry he was considered a rising star on the Pentecostal preaching circuit and frequently appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, bringing him to an international audience.From a ministry he started in 1977, Pearson in 1981 founded Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa — later known as New Dimensions Church, whose membership numbered about 6,000 by the turn of the century.Membership plummeted to a few hundred by 2008 after Pearson began teaching what he called “the gospel of inclusion,” a form of universalism, which does not recognize hell.Bogle said Pearson told him that he did not believe he had made a mistake with his...

UN report says world is racing to well past warming limit as carbon emissions rise instead of plunge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

The globe is speeding to 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius (4.5 to 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming since pre-industrial times, set to blow well past the agreed-upon international climate threshold, a United Nations report calculated.To have an even money shot at keeping warming to the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) limit adopted by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, countries have to slash their emissions by 42% by the end of the decade, said the U.N. Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap report issued Monday. Carbon emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas rose 1.2% last year, the report said.This year Earth got a taste of what’s to come, said the report, which sets the table for international climate talks later this month.Through the end of September, the daily global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above mid-19th century levels on 86 days this year, the report said. But that increased to 127 days because nearly all of the first two weeks of...

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, COVID-19 inquiry told

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic, his chief scientific advisor said Monday.In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Vallance said he and others faced repeated problems getting Johnson to understand the science. “I think I’m right in saying that the prime minister gave up science at 15,” he said. “I think he’d be the first to admit it wasn’t his forte and that he struggled with the concepts and we did need to repeat them — often.”In extracts from his diary that were relayed to the inquiry, Vallance said Johnson was “bamboozled” by the graphs and data and that watching him “get his head round stats is awful.”During the pandemic, Vallance was a highly visible presence in the U.K. He and the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, would flank Johnson in numerous daily COVID-19 press briefings from the prime min...

Fatality confirmed in crash involving truck, freight train on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

CHICAGO — A crash involving a semi-truck and a freight train has been confirmed a fatality, according to the Chicago Fire Department.The crash happened just before 7 a.m. Monday at Norfolk and Southern rail yard at 350 West Garfield Boulevard on the city's South Side. According to officials, the freight train struck a semi that was stopped on the tracks.Skycam9 captured the recovery effort by emergency crews on scene. Fire officials have confirmed the crash is a fatality. No further details have been provided.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Why do these 2 NFL teams always play on Thanksgiving?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

(WTAJ) — Every November, Americans travel far and wide to spend time with their families while enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving. And while (overeating) turkey on the annual holiday is a recurring theme, so is football: The NFL schedules three games each season on Turkey Day. Whether you're into sports or not, you might notice that each year, the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are taking the field. So why do these two teams always play on Thanksgiving? The tradition is entering its 89th year for the Lions, who started playing on Thanksgiving in 1934. The initial scheduling was no accident, either. George A. Richards, the then-owner of the team, aimed to attract some publicity (and fans) with a Turkey Day game, according to CBS Sports. Richards also owned an NBC-affiliated radio station and had worked out a contract to get the game broadcast on 94 different stations.The Lions have played on Thanksgiving every year since 1934 except between 1939 and 1944 during World War II. Detroit d...

Cans gone classy: Canned seafood moves beyond tuna sandwiches as pandemic trend sticks around

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sardines swirling in preserved lemons. Mackerel basking in curry sauce. Chargrilled squid bathing in ink. All are culinary delicacies long popular in Europe that are now making their mark on U.S. menus.The country's canned seafood industry is moving well beyond tuna sandwiches, a pandemic-era trend that began with Americans in lockdown demanding more of their cupboard staples.Since then, the U.S. market has only expanded, fueled by social media influencers touting the benefits of the high-powered protein food in brightly colored metal containers. On the TikTok channel Tinned — Fishionado, Kris Wilson posts recipes for quick meals, including one mixing leftover rice, soy sauce, avocado and a runny egg with a tin of smoked mussels from the Danish company Fangst.An order of tinned fish prepared at the DECANTsf bar is pictured, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)Tinned fish, as it's called in Europe, is now a regular offering on...

Biden is spending his 81st birthday pardoning two Minnesota turkeys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

WASHINGTON — Liberty and Bell are ready for their presidential pardons.The two Thanksgiving turkeys were due at the White House on Monday to play their part in what has become an annual holiday tradition: a president sparing them from becoming someone’s dinner.“We think that’s a great way to kick off the holiday season and really, really a fun honor,” Steve Lykken, chairman of the National Turkey Federation and president of the Jennie-O Turkey Store, said in an interview with The Associated Press.The turkeys who will receive a Presidential Pardon at the White House ahead of Thanksgiving enjoy their hotel room, Sunday Nov. 19, 2023, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)Two turkeys, named Liberty and Bell, who will receive a Presidential Pardon at the White House ahead of Thanksgiving, attend their news conference, Sunday Nov. 19, 2023, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)...

The Marching Falcons heading to France

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The City School District of Albany Marching Falcons are preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime. The band was invited to France to help commemorate an important anniversary of the D-Day invasion of World War II. This isn't the band's first time overseas. Under the direction of Marching Band Director Bryan Cady, the Marching Falcons participated in the 75th anniversary D-Day events back in 2019. Cosmetology teacher giving Albany students the hot tools to succeed “I just felt so honored to be in the presence of so many World War II veterans, because they did so much for the world, that’s really the only way I can describe it,” said one student.Before the set list is complete and the band can pack their bags, they will be fundraising for the trip. Donations can be made through the Albany Fund for Education.