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Hunter Biden plea deal on tax charges falls through after judge expresses concern about agreement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s plea deal on two tax charges fell apart on Wednesday after the federal judge hearing his case expressed concern over a related agreement on a more serious gun possession charge. The outcome leaves open, at least temporarily, the yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings. He had been charged with two misdemeanor tax crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, and he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation. Last month, Biden was charged with possession of a firearm by a person who is a known drug user, a felony. He had a Colt Cobra .38 Special for 11 days in October 2018. He agreed to enter into a diversion agreement, which means that he would not technically plead guilty to the crime. As long as he adhered to the terms of his agreement, the case would be wiped from his record. If not, th...

Giuliani concedes he made public comments falsely claiming Georgia election workers committed fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has conceded that he made public comments falsely claiming two Georgia election workers committed ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential race but is arguing that the statements were protected by the First Amendment. That assertion by Giuliani, who as part of Donald Trump’s legal team tried to overturn results in battleground states, came in a filing Tuesday in a lawsuit by Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. Their lawsuit from December 2021 accused the former New York City mayor of defaming them by falsely stating that they had engaged in fraud while counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The lawsuit says Giuliani repeatedly pushed debunked claims that Freeman and Moss — mother and daughter — pulled out suitcases of illegal ballots and committed other acts of fraud to try to alter the outcome of the race.Though Giuliani is not disputing that the statements were false, he does not concede that they caused any damage to Freeman or Moss. Tha...

Crescent Point Energy reports $212.3 million profit in second quarter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. reported its second-quarter profit fell by 36 per cent year-over-year as global oil prices declined from 2022’s dramatic peaks.The Calgary-based company said Wednesday it earned $212.3 million in the three-month period ended June 30, 2023, down from $331.5 million in the same period a year ago.The decline in earnings coincided with weakening crude oil prices due to slowing global economic growth and the fading of concerns about supply disruptions as a result of the Ukraine war.Many Canadian oil producers reaped record profits in 2022 as global commodity prices spiked in the aftermath of Russia’s unprovoked invasion. But those sky-high prices have eased significantly in recent months. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate averaged US$75 per barrel for the first six months of 2023, down from over $100 per barrel on average over the same period in 2022.Crescent Point — which has drilling operations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba...

Michigan urologist to stand trial on sexual assault charges connected to youth hockey physicals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A doctor who authorities say spent two decades providing medical assistance to youth hockey teams in Michigan and Minnesota will stand trial on charges that he sexually assaulted patients.Zvi Levran faces 22 counts of third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving 10 former hockey players. He denies any wrongdoing.Some witnesses testified during his preliminary hearing that ended Tuesday in Farmington Hills District Court near Detroit that the sexual assaults occurred when they were teens and adults.Each situation had one purpose, which was to “satisfy the sexual desire of the defendant,” said Judge James Brady, who noted that the victims had placed a lot of trust in the doctor.Defense attorney Jonathan Jones argued in court that solely touching a person’s genitals in a medical setting is not a crime, The Detroit News reported.Levran, 66, also faces charges in nearby Bloomfield Hills District Court.He was arrested in October and arrai...

Toronto champ Ray Lalonde disappointed in ‘Jeopardy’ plans to continue amid strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian “Jeopardy” champ Ray Lalonde says the show is asking would-be contestants to cross the picket line by going ahead with a new season using old questions. Lalonde, a set builder and painter from Toronto who won 13 consecutive games last season, had previously said he wouldn’t participate in the show’s “tournament of champions” while the Writers’ Guild of America is on strike.“Jeopardy,” which uses WGA workers to write its questions, has since said in a statement that it never planned to film the tournament of champions while the strike continues.However, it says it is going ahead with filming a new season, as some questions were written ahead of the strike.It says it will share “exciting plans” about the rest of the season next month, but doesn’t plan to use game material written by non-WGA writers.Even so, Lalonde says “Jeopardy” is a struck production, so he’s disappointed th...

Rogers cutting costs, eliminating duplication amid integration of Shaw

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. says it found $48 million in cost savings in its most recent quarter after closing its deal to buy Shaw Communications Inc., representing nearly 25 per cent of the $200 million in costs it plans to cut this year as it works to eliminate duplication.To further its savings, the Toronto-based telecommunications company plans to sell up to $1 billion of non-core assets over the next six to 12 months, primarily consisting of surplus real estate, it said Wednesday as it reported its second quarter earning results.“We have some additional business operations, which I’m not prepared to announce, that we’re looking at whether or not there’s an opportunity there,” said Rogers chief financial officer Glenn Brandt on an analyst call.He said the company’s media branch and sports franchises wouldn’t be affected by the asset selloff that will focus on more peripheral holdings.“These really are assets that we simpl...

British billionaire, owner of Tottenham soccer team, arrested on insider trading charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Lewis, the British billionaire who owns the Tottenham soccer team, was taken into U.S. federal custody in New York City on Wednesday, where he awaited an initial court appearance on insider trading charges alleging that he fed corporate secrets to romantic partners, personal assistants, friends and his pilots, earning them millions of dollars illegally.Two pilots — Patrick O’Connor and Bryan ‘Marty’ Waugh — were also arrested, authorities said. All three men were expected to appear in Manhattan federal court.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who announced the charges Tuesday night in a video, said in a release that Lewis was accused of “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme” that utilized his access to corporate boardrooms to feed inside tips to friends and lovers.“Those folks then traded on that inside information — and made millions of dollars in the stock market — because, thanks to Lewis, those bets were a sure thing,” Williams said. “That’s classi...

Prosecutors oppose a defense request to exhume the body of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s father

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday opposed a request by lawyers for the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman to exhume the body of his father for the purpose of proving paternity.Robert Bowers’ lawyers want the body exhumed for a DNA test after prosecutors raised questions about paternity during Bowers’ trial for the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers, a 50-year-old truck driver from suburban Baldwin, faces a possible death sentence after being convicted in June of killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue.Trying to persuade jurors to spare his life, the defense said Bowers has a family history of mental illness and has introduced evidence that his father was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The defense asserts Robert Bowers also has schizophrenia and opened fire at the synagogue out of a delusional belief that Jews were helping to commit a genocide against white people.The government urged the trial judge to reject the defense request, saying he does...

Potential for severe weather threatens area; heat advisory in effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

CHICAGO — Hot and humid Wednesday with highs in the lower 90s and heat index values that could top out over 100 degrees.  Scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon are possible with potentially severe storms. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here A list of warnings, watches and advisories below:A Heat Advisory is in effect starting at 12 p.m. Wednesday through 9 p.m. in the orange counties. (map below) Peak heat indices of 100-105 degrees are expected. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in air conditioning when possible and limit time in sun. Check on relatives and neighbors. Take precautions working and spending time outdoors.Our skies will become mostly clear tonight. It will stay warm and humid as temperatures fall into the lower 70s.  Thursday will be mostly sunny, hot and humid with highs in the mid-90s inland and mid-80s lakeside.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

A south suburban village is making their pitch to be site of Bears' new stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:23 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — There is another municipality in the Chicagoland area that's hoping to catch the Bears' attention in their search for a place to build a new stadium.This time, it's a village in the south suburbs. Late last week, Richton Park president Rick Reinbold sent a letter to Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren to make his pitch to the city to be the home of a new stadium for the NFL franchise. The village becomes the latest to show their interest after the Bears announced in June that Arlington Park, which the team officially purchased in February, was not their "singular focus" when it came to a new stadium. In the letter, Reinbold pitched a few advantages that Richton Park could offer, including being 30 minutes southwest of The Loop along with easy access to I-57, I-80, I-94, I-294, and I-355. The village is also connected to downtown and other parts of the area through the Metra Electric railroad.Reinbold also pointed out that the village has more than 1,000 acres of...