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After unintended 12-year pause, South Carolina secures drug to resume lethal injections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has obtained a drug needed to carry out lethal injections and is ready to perform the state’s first execution in over 12 years, officials announced Tuesday.South Carolina used to be one of most prolific states in the nation when it came to putting inmates to death. But it has had an unintended moratorium on the death penalty ever since its lethal injection drugs passed their expiration date and pharmacies refused to sell the state more because they could be publicly identified.The South Carolina General Assembly passed a shield law in May allowing the state to keep secret the procedure for executions and the suppliers of drugs or other items used.On Tuesday, state Corrections Director Bryan Stirling revealed he bought a supply of pentobarbital and the state would begin using the sedative as the only drug in its executions. The state had previously used a three-drug combination.It’s unknown when executions will restart. Four condemned inmate...

Prosecutor begins to review whether Minnesota trooper’s shooting of Black man was justified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

An investigation into a Minnesota trooper fatally shooting a Black man has wrapped up, and now it is up to prosecutors to decide if charges are warranted. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that the Minnesota Public Safety Department’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had submitted the findings of its inquiry into the death of 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II.Trooper Ryan Londregan shot Cobb on July 31 after he refused to leave his car during a stop on a Minneapolis freeway, according to the bureau, which investigates such shootings.Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty vowed in in a news release to reach a decision “as quickly as possible” and said a use-of-force expert had been enlisted to help.But she also said she was disappointed to learn from state investigators about a lack of cooperation from some patrol employees who weren’t the subject of the investigation but potentially had useful information. She stressed that “the family, the community, and the troo...

Pilot of downed F-35 stealth fighter jet parachuted into residential backyard, official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

North Charleston, S.C. (AP) — The pilot of a $100 million stealth fighter jet parachuted safely into the backyard of a home in South Carolina after a malfunction forced him to eject from the aircraft, causing the plane to crash into a wooded area about 60 miles away.A U.S. Marine Corps official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the investigation into Sunday’s crash told The Associated Press that the aircraft was not found until the next day. A state law enforcement helicopter located the jet and debris around 5 p.m. Monday in a field near Indiantown, South Carolina.The pilot, who has not been identified by the Marine Corps, did not have serious injuries and has been discharged from the hospital.“He’s unsure of where his plane crashed, said he just lost it in the weather,” someone can be heard saying of the pilot on audio from a Charleston County Emergency Medical Services call shared Tuesday by a local meteorologist....

Concerns over classroom violence remain top issue for Ontario teachers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

The assault of multiple staff members and a student at an Oshawa school on Monday is once again highlighting the issue of violence in schools, which remains a top concern for teachers in ongoing bargaining with the province.The president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) told CityNews the worry is that there are not enough trained professionals to support students with various needs.“The teacher should not be filling in as a physiologist or a child and youth worker or social worker in the absence of those trained professionals being available,” OSSTF President Karen Littlewood said.In many cases, teachers need crisis intervention training before stepping in to help stop behaviour that could lead to injuries.“It becomes really challenging because people want to do the best by students.”The Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB), which oversees Sir Albert Love Catholic School in Oshawa where three teachers and a student w...

Adnan Syed calls for investigation into prosecutorial misconduct on protracted legal case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Adnan Syed, speaking a year after he was released from prison when a judge vacated his conviction in the murder of his ex-girlfriend, emphasized his innocence again on Tuesday, as he faces yet another stage in his long and complex legal odyssey next month in Maryland’s Supreme Court after a lower court reinstated his conviction earlier this year.Syed, who gave a presentation lasting more than an hour that was streamed online by news outlets, called on Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown to investigate what he alleged to be prosecutorial misconduct more than two decades into his case, which was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.”“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Brown,” Syed said, as his mother and younger brother sat nearby on a couch in the family’s home. “He has a long history of standing up for Maryland families, and we’re just asking that he please stand up for our family as well.”Jennifer Donelan, a spokeswoman for Brown, said t...

‘He’s working’: Dos and don’ts of guide dog etiquette

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

September is Guide Dog Access Awareness Month and while it is commonly understood that guide dogs are to be allowed in almost all public spaces, it’s also important to remember that they’re not pets and should not be treated as such when out in public.“Guide dogs are certified and they’re well-trained to do a job,” explains guide dog handler Ryan Hooey from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).He was matched with his guide dog, Joe, three years ago and relies on him to go to and from places safely.“I still have to know where I’m going and how to get there. He’s not a GPS — which is a big myth. I can’t say ‘Joe, go to the Eaton Center.’ He doesn’t know the way, he just will get me from point A to point B safely. He’s trained to stop at all street corners, and then I have to decide when it’s safe to go,” says Hooey.One important distinction between pets and guide dogs that H...

Kentucky Supreme Court reviews state’s Republican-drawn legislative, congressional maps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Democrats took their legal fight to the state’s highest court on Tuesday in challenging Republican-drawn boundaries for state House and congressional districts.The hearing before Kentucky’s Supreme Court at times revolved around a lower court ruling that the new maps did not violate the state constitution. Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate concluded that the new boundaries amounted to “partisan gerrymanders,” but said the constitution “does not explicitly forbid the consideration of partisan interests in apportioning representation.”Supreme Court Justice Kelly Thompson said that issue looms as “the crux of this matter” as the high court reviews the redistricting case. Thompson pointedly asked an attorney for the Democrats whether the court had ever invalidated newly drawn districts based solely on the grounds of gerrymandering.“Not yet,” replied the attorney, Michael Abate. “This court has not done so.”Abate sai...

Hurricane Nigel strengthens, gaining Category 2 status far from land out in the Atlantic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Nigel powered up to Category 2 storm status on Tuesday afternoon and could intensify further before it starts weakening in coming days far out over the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.Nigel’s top sustained winds rose to 100 mph (160 kph) by late Tuesday, up from 90 mph (145 kph) earlier in the day when it was a strong Category 1 hurricane. The system was centered about 590 miles (955 kilometers) east of Bermuda and moving to the north-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph). The island territory might see swells from Nigel that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, forecasters said. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect as the storm remained far from land.The Miami-based hurricane center said Nigel could strengthen some more early Wednesday but is expected to begin weakening on Thursday and Friday and become a still strong post-tropical cyclone sometime Friday. The Associated Press

Groups say philanthropists trying to boost local news shouldn’t leave minorities behind

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some organizations representing minority journalists say they’re worried that outlets reporting on their communities will be left behind in a recently-announced $500 million initiative aimed at boosting the struggling local news industry.They urged that Press Forward Initiative, a group of 20 funders led by the Knight and MacArthur Foundations, to more explicitly commit to funding these outlets, particularly those run by minorities.“They’re sort of skirting around it,” said Martin Reynolds, co-executive director of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, on Tuesday.There was no immediate comment from the funders. In announcing the $500 million pledge two weeks ago, the funders said they wanted to “move resources to newsrooms and organizations that are improving diversity of experience and thought,” as well as into underserved communities.Reynolds pointed to research showing that philanthropists tended to favor organizations run by whites...

'I was laughing and crying': Illinois man retires after winning $2M on scratch-off ticket

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:54 GMT

ILLINOIS — An Illinois man who spent $20 on a scratch-off lottery ticket saw a massive return on investment after winning a $2 million top prize, according to the Illinois Lottery.The 66-year-old man, who has asked to remain anonymous, picked up the life-changing ticket at a Pilot Travel Center along Illinois Route 47 in Morris.“My wife and I stopped for gas and I picked up a scratch-off ticket. She said, ‘Don’t scratch it in front of me, I’m bad luck.’ So once we got back home, I scratched the ticket alone, and I couldn’t believe it, the ticket was a $2 million winner! I was laughing and crying at the same time. We are just ecstatic,” the lotto player said.  No winner for Powerball; jackpot climbs to $672 million Over 50 different Instant Ticket games are offered by The Illinois Lottery across the state, but the player's lucky twist of fate was due in part to his granddaughter.“I picked the pink ticket because it’s my granddaughter’s favorite color,” the big winner said. Aft...