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Suspect in Holloway disappearance to appear in federal court for extortion case; plea deal possible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An attorney for the mother of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba, said a possible plea deal with a suspect in an extortion case is contingent upon his disclosing details about her death.Joran van der Sloot, long considered the chief suspect in Holloway’s 2005 disappearance, is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday morning in Birmingham, Alabama, for a plea and sentencing hearing for a case in which he is accused of trying to extort $250,000 from Holloway’s mother in 2010 to reveal the location of her body. John Q. Kelly, an attorney who represented Holloway’s mother during the alleged extortion, told The Associated Press Tuesday that a potential plea deal is contingent upon him revealing information about what happened to Holloway. Kelly first made the comments on NBC’s “Today” show. Emails sent to van der Sloot’s attorney and a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors were not immed...

San Diego takes top spot in ranking of most expensive places to live in U.S.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It is no secret that San Diego can be pretty pricy for residents, but cost of living has catapulted the city to the top spot in a U.S. News & World Report ranking of most expensive places to live in the country.On one of the magazine's real estate rankings for 2023-2024, America's Finest City was deemed the most unaffordable metro area in the country to live, earning a "value score" of 3.3 in their data analysis to help figure out the best cities to settle down.According to the magazine, the Value Index measures how comfortably the average resident of a metro area can afford to live within their means. Specifically, it looks at housing affordability, as well as federal data on the parity between regional prices and national averages. New home construction to be accelerated in San Diego with SANDAG funds Home prices were one of the factors that pushed San Diego up on the ranking, given that average prices are considerably higher than the national rate. In August, t...

At least 189 bodies found decaying at a Colorado funeral home, up from 115, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The remains of at least 189 decaying bodies were found and removed from a Colorado funeral home, up from about 115 reported when the bodies were discovered two weeks ago, officials said Tuesday.The remains were found by authorities responding to a report of a foul odor at the Return to Nature Funeral Home inside a decrepit building in the small town of Penrose, Colorado.Efforts to identify the remains began last week with help from an FBI team that gets deployed to mass casualty events like airline crashes. Fremont Sheriff Allen Cooper described the scene as “horrific.”The discovery came after the owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home missed tax payments in recent months, got evicted from one of their properties and sued for unpaid bills by a crematory that quit doing business with them almost a year ago.Colorado has some of the weakest rules for funeral homes in the nation with no routine inspections or qualification requirements for funeral home operators.The A...

Pentagon releases footage of hundreds of ‘highly concerning’ aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the last two years — more than the total amount over the previous decade and part of a trend U.S. military officials called concerning. The photos and video were released in advance of a soon-to-be issued annual report by the Pentagon on the China’s military power and the security threats it may pose to partners in the Indo-Pacific.The Pentagon has tried for years to posture itself to be ready for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan even as it now finds itself supporting allies in two hot wars, Ukraine in Europe and Israel in the Middle East.Admiral John Acquilino, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said at a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday that despite the U.S. surging carrier strike groups and amphibious ships to support Israel, and now almost 20 months of war in Ukraine, the command has what it needs to deter China.“I have...

North Carolina’s governor sues lawmakers for a measure that eliminates his elections board authority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper sued state Republican lawmakers on Tuesday over a measure that eliminates his authority to pick elections board members, while voting rights groups filed yet another lawsuit challenging provisions of a law that they contend will discourage young people from voting.Both measures became law last week, when the GOP-controlled General Assembly overrode Cooper’s vetoes of them. The governor’s lawsuit, filed in state court against House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger, challenges a measure that would transfer his power over the elections board to legislative leaders. Cooper said the board changes, which would take effect Jan. 1, run counter to the state constitution and state Supreme Court rulings in the 2010s that demand a governor have control over executive agencies to carry out laws. State voters also rejected a 2018 referendum that would have given lawmakers more say over the elections board’s ...

Wisconsin Senate gives final approval to bill banning gender-affirming surgery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gender-affirming surgery for minors would be banned in Wisconsin under a Republican-sponsored bill that won final approval in the GOP-controlled Legislature on Tuesday.Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto the measure that drew dozens of people in opposition to a hearing at the Capitol earlier this month. The Assembly passed the rapidly moving bill last week and the Senate passed it Tuesday. Democrats were united against it in both the Assembly and Senate, but didn’t have the votes to stop it. “This bill is nothing short of cruel,” Democratic Sen. Mark Spreitzer said during debate. He questioned why the Senate was taking it up given Evers’ vow to veto it. “Stop hurting LGBTQ kids.”Democrats and other bill opponents, including those representing the LGBTQ+ community, argue that introducing the ban adds to mental health challenges that transgender and nonbinary youth already face.“We’re talking about kids,” Spreitzer said before debate. “K...

Kari Lake’s lawsuit over metro Phoenix’s electronic voting machines has been tossed out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal appeals court tossed out a lawsuit brought by former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake that was previously dismissed, challenging use of electronic voting machines and sought to ban them in last year’s midterm elections.Lake and failed Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, both Republicans, filed a lawsuit in April 2022 that alleged the ballot tabulation machines were not trustworthy.The former Phoenix TV anchor wound up losing her race by more than 17,000 votes while Finchem lost by over 120,000 votes.In the ruling Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said their claims didn’t show “a plausible inference that their individual votes in future elections will be adversely affected by the use of electronic tabulation, particularly given the robust safeguards in Arizona law, the use of paper ballots, and the post-tabulation retention of those ballots.”The challenge focused on problems with ballot printers at some polling ...

Father and other family members are convicted in New Mexico kidnapping and terrorism case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jurors on Tuesday convicted a father of terrorism charges in a case that stemmed from the search for a 3-year-old boy who went missing from Georgia and was found dead hundreds of miles away at a squalid compound in northern New Mexico in 2018.Prosecutors told jurors that the boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and other members of his family had fled with the toddler to a remote stretch of the high desert so they could engage in firearms and tactical training to prepare for attacks against the government. It was all tied to an apparent belief that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ and provide instructions.Jurors reached their decision after deliberating for two-and-a-half days. In a case that took years to get to trial, jurors heard weeks of testimony from children who had lived with their parents at the compound, other family members, firearms experts, doctors and forensic technicians. The defendants, who are Muslim, argued that federal authorities t...

Wisconsin Assembly approves $545 million in public dollars for Brewers stadium repairs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin legislators edged closer Tuesday to passing a compromise plan to spend more than half-a-billion dollars in public money to help cover repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers stadium, pushing the proposal through the state Assembly and on to the Senate.The chamber voted 69-27 to approve the package. The Senate is expected to vote on the plan in November, but senators may attach amendments and send the measure back to the Assembly, the proposal’s sponsors said. Both houses must agree on the same version before the plan can go to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for his signature.“We’ve got to get it done,” Evers told reporters before the vote. “I’m ready to support it as is.”The Brewers contend that American Family Field’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses should be replaced and that luxury suites and video scoreboard need upgrades. The stadium’s signature retractable roof, fire suppression systems, parking lots, elevators...

Complainant in Peter Nygard trial testifies about aftermath of alleged Toronto rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:44 GMT

A woman who accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault told his Toronto trial it took her decades to go to police because she feared the fashion mogul could ruin her reputation and chances at a career in the industry. The fifth and final complainant at Nygard’s trial said Tuesday that she decided to come forward years later to help other vulnerable women speak out against predators. “This isn’t for me, I’m older now,” said the complainant, whose identity is covered by a publication ban. “This is for a young generation of women who are coming up, and they need to know they can report this straight away to prevent these predators from developing.”Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, is accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls. The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged ...