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DiCaprio testifies in money-laundering case of Fugees rapper

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court Monday morning as part of a trial involving international money laundering, bribery and a prominent rap artist. Prakazrel “Pras” Michel — a founding member of the iconic 1990s hip-hop group, The Fugees — is accused of funneling money from a fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Five years later, prosecutors say he tried to squelch an investigation into that same financer under former President Donald Trump’s administration.At the heart of the case is Low Taek Jho, usually known as Jho Low. He is accused of masterminding an international money laundering and bribery scheme that stole billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB. DiCaprio’s connection with the case comes from his years-long relationship with Low, who was one of the primary financers of the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Low is currently a fugitive but has maintaine...

Russia rejects US claims its UN council presidency is a joke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia’s U.N. ambassador on Monday dismissed U.S. and European Union descriptions of its presidency of the Security Council this month as an April Fool’s joke and announced a meeting to be chaired by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on defending the principles of the U.N. Charter, which Moscow is widely accused of breaking by invading Ukraine.U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters earlier Monday that the U.S. expects the Russians will use their presiding seat “to spread disinformation and promote their own agenda as it relates to Ukraine, and we will stand ready to call them out at every single moment that they attempt to do that.”She and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell both called Russia’s takeover of the council presidency an April Fool’s joke. Under Security Council rules, the presidency rotates monthly in alphabetical order among its 15 members. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters there will be no c...

Second autopsy done in unsolved South Carolina death probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A second autopsy was completed this weekend on the exhumed body of a teenager found dead nearly eight years ago on a South Carolina road, according to the family’s lawyer, after the public attention surrounding Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial boosted a mother’s search for answers in the unsolved case.The mother’s lawyers have said there is no evidence linking Stephen Smith’s death to the Murdaugh family, and state investigators have remained tight-lipped since taking the case around the same time police said Murdaugh killed his wife and son.But speculation following the since-disbarred lawyer’s recent life sentence for those killings helped Sandy Smith raise more than $87,000 to have her son’s body re-examined in an investigation that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has said was never closed since the agency opened it in June 2021.Attorney Eric Bland, who is representing the family, said in a Sunday statement that ...

More severe weather forecast for battered South, Midwest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — While residents across parts of the South and Midwest pummeled by deadly storms and wildfires sifted through the wreckage of their homes Monday, forecasters warned of more severe weather and fire danger in the days ahead across much of the same region.The fierce storms that spawned tornadoes in 11 states killed at least 32 people as the system that began Friday plodded through Arkansas and traveled northeast through the South and into the Midwest and Northeast.Here’s a look at the severe storms over the weekend and what’s expected in the days ahead:WILDFIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGHOn the western side of the storm lines that developed Friday were extremely dry conditions in Oklahoma that combined with high winds to fuel several large wildfires that forced interstate closures and sent residents fleeing from their homes.More than 40 homes were destroyed across Oklahoma, including 30 in an area near the town of Guthrie, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of...

4 found dead in hotel area of Mexico’s Cancun beach resort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in the Mexican resort of Cancun said Monday they have found four dead bodies in the city’s hotel zone near the beach. There was no immediate information on the nationalities or identities of the victims. The announcement of the deaths came less that a week after a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.Prosecutors originally said three bodies were found Monday in a lot near one of Cancun’s beachside hotels along the Kukulkan Boulevard. They then added that a fourth body was found in the undergrowth on the same lot, brining to four the number of victims.Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said two suspects had been detained in the killings. They said the deaths were under investigation, but did not give a cause of death. Last week in Puerto Morelos, a U.S. tourist was approached by several suspects, and they shot him in the leg. The motive remains under investigation. The wounded man was taken to a hos...

B.C. to spend billions on plan to build more homes to ease housing crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has introduced a multibillion-dollar plan to construct more homes as quickly as possible in an attempt to build its way out of the housing crisis. The so-called Homes for People plan starts with a $4-billion investment over three years and commits to $12 billion over a decade with incentives to build, laws to curb speculation and financial help for renters and homeowners. “This crisis is touching people in every corner of our province. It’s impacting quality of life in our communities and it’s holding back our entire economy,” Premier David Eby said.“Businesses are struggling to attract workers who can’t afford to live in the communities where the jobs are.”As part of the plan, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the government will introduce provincial legislation this fall to allow three to four units on a traditional single-family detached lot with additional density permitted in areas well served ...

Indian police identify family who died crossing illegally into U.S. from Akwesasne

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

The four Indian nationals whose bodies were among eight pulled from the St. Lawrence River last week had been travelling in Canada on a tourist visa, a police official from their home state said Monday. Eight people — four from India and four of Romanian descent — died trying to cross illegally into the United States from Canada through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles provincial and international boundaries and includes regions of Quebec, Ontario and New York state.Achal Tyagi, superintendent of police for the city of Mehsana, in the western state of Gujarat, told The Canadian Press that the four deceased Indians were members of the Chaudhari family. They included the father, Praveenbhai Chaudhari, 50; mother, Dakshaben, 45; son, Meet, 20; and 23-year-old daughter, Vidhi.Praveenbhai was a farmer, Tyagi said, adding that the family was from the Mehsana district, which has a population of about 1.8 million people. Indian police have opened an investigation and met with Cha...

No legal justification for use of Emergencies Act, civil liberties group tells court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

OTTAWA — A national civil liberties group told a federal judge Monday the federal government has not clearly spelled out proper legal justification for its use of the Emergencies Act early last year in response to protests in the national capital and at key border points.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association was among the groups and individuals in Federal Court to argue Ottawa lacked sound statutory grounds to invoke the emergency measures The government contends the measures taken to deal with the pan-Canadian emergency situation were targeted, proportional, time-limited and compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The Public Order Emergency Commission, a mandatory review that takes place after invocation of the Emergencies Act, found the government met the very high threshold for using the law.Now the legal arguments for and against the decision are being heard in a court of law.The three-day hearing began Monday with the federal government’s reasons why...

What’s happening with Twitter blue check marks?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

Elon Musk had promised to take away all of Twitter’s blue check marks doled out to Hollywood stars, professional athletes, business leaders, authors and journalists unless they start buying a monthly subscription to the social media service.Musk’s goal was to shove the advertising-dependent platform he bought for $44 billion last year into a pay-to-play model — and maybe antagonize some enemies and fellow elites in the process.But the Saturday deadline passed and the blue checks are still there, many with a new disclaimer explaining they might have been paid for or they might not have been paid for — nobody but Twitter really knows. The company didn’t return a request to clarify its changing policies Monday.DOES A BLUE CHECK MATTER?Matt Darling has been on Twitter for about 15 years and never cared about not having a blue check, though he’d get a kick out of whenever a verified account of “some real-world importance” started following him. “People on Tw...

Sex abuse trial delayed for ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:29 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada judge postponed on Monday the trial for a former “Dances With Wolves” actor indicted in state court on charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls for a decade in the Las Vegas area.Clark County District Judge Carli Kierny said the trial in the case of Nathan Chasing Horse will begin May 1 in Las Vegas to give prosecutors and Chasing Horse’s public defenders more time to iron out pending motions in the case. His trial had previously been scheduled for April 17.A Clark County grand jury indicted Chasing Horse, 46, in late February on 19 counts that include charges of sexual assault of a child younger than 16, kidnapping, lewdness and child abuse. Chasing Horse, who is widely known for his portrayal of Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film, has pleaded not guilty and invoked his right to a trial within 60 days of his indictment.The former actor, who has been in custody since his Jan. 31 arrest, is due back in court...