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Suit over Texas woman’s jail death settles for $7 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — A private company that ran a Texas jail where a woman allegedly went blind following days of medical neglect before her 2019 death has agreed to a $7 million lawsuit settlement along with other defendants, her family’s attorney said Thursday.The payout over Holly Barlow-Austin’s death after being held at an East Texas jail operated by LaSalle Corrections is among the largest public settlements of its kind, attorney Erik Heipt said in a statement. Her death was one in a string of other deaths and incidents that led to lawsuits and investigations of the company, which runs facilities where thousands of people are incarcerated.“If you’re going to cut corners and put profits over people’s lives, there will be a steep price to pay,” said Heipt, a Seattle-based lawyer who represents Barlow-Austin’s husband and mother. He said the payout ”should serve as a wake-up call to all private jail and prison operators.”The family’s federal lawsuit was resolved ...

Another Kenyan pastor arrested over deaths of followers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya arrested another popular pastor on the Indian Ocean coast as the number of deaths linked to a cult in the area rose to 103 on Thursday. Pastor Ezekiel Odero “is being processed to face criminal charges related to mass killing of his followers”, according to a statement by Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki.Odero will be questioned overnight and is expected to appear in court on Friday. His church has been closed and those who were found inside were ordered out, Coast Regional Coordinator Rhoda Onyancha said.Odero’s megachurch, the New Life Prayer Centre Church, is in Malindi County, where another pastor, Paul Mackenzie is being investigated for directing his followers to fast until death.Police have been exhuming bodies at a ranch owned by Mackenzie, where he moved in 2019 after closing his church in Malindi. As part of the move, he reportedly sold his television channel to Odero. Odero’s television channel is popular in Kenyan households, with p...

S&P/TSX composite up in broad-based rally, U.S. stocks also higher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

TORONTO — The heavyweight energy and financial sectors helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index rose more than 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.26 points at 20,469.98.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 218.27 points at 33,520.14. The S&P 500 index was up 43.26 points at 4,099.25, while the Nasdaq composite was up 196.50 points at 12,050.85.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.46 cents US compared with 73.39 cents US on Wednesday.The June crude contract was down 10 cents at US$74.20 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up two cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$2.70 at US$1,993.30 an ounce and the July copper contract was up less than a penny at US$3.87 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

The Latest on what RCMP say happened in the mass killing on James Smith Cree Nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

MELFORT, Sask. — The RCMP are releasing details on a stabbing rampage last year in Saskatchewan. Eleven people were killed and 18 were injured on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022. Mounties have said Myles Sanderson, who later died in police custody, carried out the attacks.Here are the latest developments from the police news conference (all times are CT):9:30 a.m.Saskatchewan RCMP are set to present a preliminary timeline of a mass killing on James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon last year.They say Mounties presented the timeline to family members of the victims today.Officers also participated in smudging, prayers and a pipe ceremony to honour the 11 who died.RCMP have also raised a teepee outside a community centre in Melfort, Sask., where the presentation is happening for media today.—9:36 a.m. The RCMP have begun delivering their preliminary timeline of events surrounding the 11 killings on James Smith ...

Writer says Trump rape trial fuels new attacks against her

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A writer who accused Donald Trump of raping her in a luxury department store in the 1990s testified for a second day Thursday at a civil trial, saying a fresh onslaught of insults on social media did nothing to diminish her pride to be in court.The testimony in Manhattan federal court came a day after columnist E. Jean Carroll bluntly told the jury she came to court “because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen.”Carroll, 79, said social media users lobbed new attacks against her as people labeled her a “liar, slut, ugly, old.”“But I couldn’t be more proud to be here,” she testified.A day earlier, she told how a chance encounter with Trump at a Bergdorf Goodman store in late 1995 or early 1996 turned from flirtatious frivolity in the desolate lingerie section into a violent sexual attack inside a dressing room. Carroll said Trump slammed her against a wall, yanked down her tights and raped her before she kneed him and ...

Greece to allow pets into more than 120 archaeological sites

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Pets will soon be allowed into more than 120 archaeological sites across Greece, the country’s Culture Ministry announced Thursday, although not in the Acropolis or some of the other top tourist draws.The move, unanimously approved by the country’s powerful Central Archaeological Council, will relax current rules which only allow guide dogs for disabled visitors into archaeological sites. The ministry did not specify when the new regulations would be implemented.The decision is “a first, but important, step toward harmonizing the framework of accessibility to monuments and archaeological sites with the standards of other European countries, where entry rules for pets already apply,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a ministry press release.The council approved the entry of pets provided they are kept on a leash no more than one meter (3 feet) long, or carried by their owners in a pouch or a pet carrying case. Owners will also need to show their pet’s healt...

‘Gold obviously’: London-bound Toronto milliner on party hats fit for a coronation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

TORONTO — Canadians heading to London for coronation festivities will have a key expert on hand to ensure they look their royal best: an expert milliner.Headwear designer David Dunkley says he expects to provide an array of fascinators and couture hats to fashionistas attending gatherings in honour of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort.He says the colour gold features prominently in his handmade headpieces, and that the design of one hat was inspired by an RCMP horse named Noble that was announced last month as a gift for King Charles III.“Gold obviously is my favourite colour for the coronation and is a coronation colour, so there’s lots of gold flying around at the moment,” Dunkley said of his inspiration as he plowed through “non-stop” preparations.“I am looking forward to the historic nature of the event, I am looking forward to seeing London in its full glory…. It’ll be fun. It really does feel like a once in a lifetime event.&...

EU team presses on with probe of Lebanon Central Bank chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A European judicial team pressed on with its corruption probe of Lebanon’s embattled Central Bank governor on Thursday, questioning one of his aides and summoning his brother for another hearing next week, officials said. The delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg is on its third visit to Lebanon to interrogate suspects and witnesses in an ongoing investigation of Gov. Riad Salameh and associates over several financial crimes and the laundering of some $330 million.Salameh’s associate, Marianne Hoayek, was questioned for several hours Thursday, two Lebanese officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe. Her questioning is to continue on Friday, they said.The European team also summoned Raja Salameh, the governor’s brother, for questioning next Wednesday after he did not show up at a session earlier this week, citing illness. Next week, the team will question Lebanon’s caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, who was a cl...

Pakistani lawmakers back PM in confidence vote in Parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Lawmakers from Pakistan’s ruling party overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government in a confidence vote in Parliament on Thursday — a show of hands intended to halt speculations that he was losing support amid a major economic crisis.Cash-strapped Pakistan is struggling to avoid a default and is now in talks with the International Monetary Fund on the revival of a $6 billion bailout signed in 2019 by Sharif’s predecessor, then-Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sharif’s government in recent weeks slashed subsidies and raised taxes to comply with the bailout terms and secure the release of a $1.2 billion tranche that’s part of the deal stalled since December. Those measures, however, resulted in increases in the price of food, gas and power.The weekly inflation this month jumped to a record-breaking 47%, raising fears of mass protests. Sharif says he inherited a bad economy from Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote last April. K...

Glenbard West High School evacuated due to bomb threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:32 GMT

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — Glenbard West High School has been evacuated Thursday morning due to a bomb threat, police said.Just after 10:05 a.m., Glyn Ellyn police said students and staff have been evacuated as a precaution.They said they're actively investigating and urge residents to stay out of the area.At this time, it's unknown where the students were evacuated to.The DuPage County Sheriff's Office has also been called to the scene.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.