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Inspector general launches probe examining decision to relocate FBI headquarters to Maryland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal watchdog will investigate how the Biden administration chose a site for a new FBI headquarters following a contentious competition marked by allegations of conflict of interest. The Inspector General for the General Services Administration is probing the decision to locate the facility in Greenbelt, Maryland, over a site in Virginia., according to a letter released Thursday by Virginia lawmakers. The new building would replace the FBI’s crumbling headquarters in nearby Washington, D.C. Virginia’s senators and representatives said in a joint statement that there was evidence the process was influenced by political considerations and called on the GSA to pause anything related to the relocation until the review is complete. The news comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray told staff in an internal message earlier this month that he was concerned about a “potential conflict of interest” in a senior executive choosing a site owned by a previous ...

Protesters shove their way into congress of Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon, toss smoke bomb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The legislature of Mexico’s northern border state of Nuevo Leon said Thursday protesters broke through doors, took over the floor of the state congress and launched a smoke bomb.The chaotic scene took place late Wednesday after the state legislature named an interim governor to take the place of Gov. Samuel García, who took a leave of absence to pursue a run for the presidency in Mexico’s June 2 elections.García wanted someone from his Citizen’s Movement party to replace him, but the legislature named someone else to serve for the six-month leave, and the protesters were angry about that.Shouting “Sell outs! Sell Outs!” dozens of protesters broke open a door and flooded the floor of the legislature, after which thick smoke soon filled the chamber.“Members of the public who were unhappy with the process carried out during the session broke into the floor to try to prevent it from being carried out,” the state congress said in a statement. “They attacked secur...

Conservative critic draws criticism after she asks heritage minister to speak English

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

OTTAWA — A Conservative critic is drawing criticism after she asked federal Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to answer a question in English during a parliamentary committee meeting.Heritage critic Rachael Thomas said today that while Canada is a bilingual country and St-Onge could respond in either official language, she would prefer the minister answered her in English.Thomas complained the minister was answering questions from fellow Liberals in English but responded to her questions only in French. She was quickly cut off by other members of the committee calling for a point of order — when members believe the rules or procedures of the House of Commons have been broken.Martin Champoux, the Bloc Québécois heritage critic, described Thomas’s attitude as insulting to Quebecers, adding that the committee’s interpretation service works well.Liberal MP Michael Coteau said Thomas’s comments were unacceptable and go against everything Canada was built on.This report ...

Alternative healer faces manslaughter charge over woman’s death at a UK slapping therapy workshop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An alternative healer who advocates a technique known as “slapping therapy” was charged Thursday over the death of a woman at one of his workshops in England seven years ago.Hongchi Xiao was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence in the October 2016 death of Danielle Carr-Gomm, Wiltshire Police said.British police first sought to arrest Xiao in 2019. He was detained after being extradited from Australia.Xiao promotes paida lajin therapy, in which patients are slapped or slap themselves repeatedly, ostensibly to release toxins from the body. Patients often end up with bruises or bleeding. The technique has its roots in Chinese medicine, but critics say it has no scientific basis.Xiao, who is originally from China and runs the California-based Pailala Institute, has led paida lajin workshops around the world.Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House country hotel in western England while attending a workshop run by Xiao. Carr-Gomm’s son Matthew said after her death that...

MLB and Sirius XM extended broadcast agreement through 2028 season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball and Sirius XM extended their broadcast agreement by five years through the 2028 season.The deal announced Thursday continues a relationship that started in 2005.Sirius carries broadcasts of all regular season and postseason games and produces the MLB Network Radio channel, which airs 24 hours daily.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlbThe Associated Press

A Dutch court orders Greenpeace activists to leave deep-sea mining ship in the South Pacific

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court ruled Thursday that Greenpeace protesters staging a sit-in must leave a deep-sea mining exploration ship in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii but that they can continue to demonstrate around the vessel.Canada-based The Metals Company, whose subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. runs the ship, Coco, accused the protesters of endangering the crew and breaking international law.The case was heard in Amsterdam, where the Greenpeace protest ship Arctic Sunrise, which is involved in the protest, is registered.Greenpeace began the protest a week ago by paddling kayaks beneath the Coco for up to 10 hours at a time to prevent it deploying equipment in the water. Two activists also boarded the ship and pledged to stay camped on the main crane used to deploy and retrieve equipment from the water until The Metals Company agrees to leave.The protest comes as international demand for critical minerals found on the seafloor grows, but an increa...

The average long-term US mortgage rate falls to 7.22%, sliding to lowest level since late September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fifth week in a row, more good news for prospective homebuyers grappling with an increasingly unaffordable housing market.The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.22% from 7.29% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.49%.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at the lowest level it’s been in 10 weeks, when it was 7.19%.“Market sentiment has significantly shifted over the last month, leading to a continued decline in mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The current trajectory of rates is an encouraging development for potential homebuyers, with purchase application activity recently rising to the same level as mid-September when rates were similar to today’s levels.”While the recent string of rate declines are welcome news for would-be homebuyers, the average rate on a 30-year home loan remains sh...

Academy Sports is paying $2.5 million to families of a serial killer’s victims for illegal gun sales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A sporting goods chain is paying the families of three people shot to death by a South Carolina serial killer $2.5 million after one of its stores sold guns to a straw buyer who gave them to the killer, a felon who couldn’t legally buy the weapons.At times, Todd Kohlhepp stood near the buyer, picking out guns at Academy Sports Outdoors to be purchased for him, the families said in a lawsuit that led to the settlement.Academy Sports asked that the amount of the settlement be kept confidential because it could encourage other lawsuits, but a judge ruled it didn’t make much of a difference because the case had attracted so much publicity already, and that the public had a right to know how it turned out. The estates of the victims will split the settlement.Kohlhepp pleaded guilty in 2017 to killing seven people — three on his property in Spartanburg County and four others about 12 years earlier at a motorcycle shop. In between the killings, he ran a re...

VIDEO: Gurnee police officer pulls driver from burning car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

GURNEE, Ill. — Police bodycam video captured the moment a Gurnee officer pulled the victim of a crash from a burning vehicle.Officer Kassandra Canadzic's patrol car was rear-ended by a suspected drunk driver on November 9. The officer went to check on the occupants inside the other vehicle, when it caught fire due to the collision.Canadzic was able to rescue the unresponsive female driver from the front seat of the burning vehicle, with the help of a bystander that helped carry the driver to safety. With swift actions, she ensured the well-being of the passengers and cautioned others to stay clear of the escalating danger. 6 people, including firefighter, injured after West Chicago apartment building fire The Gurnee Village Board will honor Canadzic with the "Life Saving Award" at its meeting on Monday.

Bills star Von Miller accused of assaulting pregnant woman in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:28 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Police in Dallas, Texas, issued an arrest warrant for Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller, who is accused of assaulting a pregnant woman Wednesday.Police told Nexstar's WIVB that around 11 a.m., Miller and the woman "got into a verbal argument and the suspect assaulted the victim," who suffered minor injuries but was not hospitalized. A television station in Dallas, Miller’s hometown, reported that the woman was Miller's pregnant girlfriend. Under Texas law, assault against a pregnant person is a third-degree felony.The Buffalo Bills said the team was made aware of an incident involving Miller on Thursday and is "in the process of gathering more information.” The Bills are currently on their bye week. They visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Dec. 10. Snow sculpture recreates Josh Allen horse-collar tackle no call Miller, 34, was acquired by the Bills in 2022. He has appeared in eight games this season after rehabbing from a ...