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Australians to vote in a referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament on Oct. 14

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australians will vote on Oct. 14 on a proposed law to create a so-called Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the nation’s first referendum in a generation.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced the referendum date, triggering just over six weeks of intensifying campaigning by both sides of the argument.The referendum would enshrine in the constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a collection of advocates aimed at giving the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.Australia has not held a referendum since 1999 and a referendum has not passed since 1977.No referendum has ever passed without bipartisan support and the major parties remain divided over the Voice.Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press

2 found dead in eastern Washington wildfires identified, more than 350 homes confirmed destroyed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The men found dead in two wildfires that ignited in eastern Washington earlier this month have been identified, and the number of homes destroyed has been confirmed at more than 350.Carl Grub, 86, died on Aug. 18 near an intersection in Medical Lake west of Spokane in the area of the Gray fire, which started that day, according to a Friday news release from the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office. Grub’s cause and manner of death is still pending. Grub, with his brother, founded The Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch, where he taught kids interested in agriculture how to care for and raise livestock, KREM-TV reported. Earlier this year, the Junior Livestock Show of Spokane had been dedicated to Grub.“The world needs more people like Carl,” the Junior Livestock Show of Spokane wrote on its Facebook page. “He will be greatly missed.” On Aug. 20, Alex Brown died in Elk, Washington, north of Spokane in an area burned by the Oregon fire. Brown, 49 died from ther...

Johnny & Associates founder Kitagawa sexually assaulted hundreds of teens, investigation finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A team investigating sexual assault allegations by the late founder of a powerful talent agency for boy bands has found the charges credible, calling Tuesday for compensation for the victims and the resignation of the current chief executive. The three-month probe, which included speaking with 23 victims, concluded that Johnny Kitagawa sexually assaulted and abused boys as far back as the 1950s and targeted at least several hundred people. The investigative panel said Johnny & Associates must apologize, strengthen compliance measures and educate its ranks about human rights. Julie Keiko Fujishima, the chief executive, must resign for not taking action over the years, according to the special team. Kitagawa died in 2019 and was never charged. “The company’s coverup led to the sexual abuse continuing unchecked for so long,” investigative team leader Makoto Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “There were many opportunities to take action.” Critics say what happened at Joh...

Fighting in eastern Syria between US-backed fighters and Arab tribesmen kills 10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Arab tribesmen clashed with U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in several areas of eastern Syria on Tuesday, leaving at least 10 people dead and others wounded, opposition activists and pro-government media said.The clashes are among the worst in recent years in the region along the border with Iraq where hundreds of U.S. troops have been based since 2015 to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.The clashes first broke out Monday, a day after the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces detained the commander of a formerly allied group and several other members of his faction after they were invited to a meeting in the northeastern city of Hassakeh.Some Arab tribesmen in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour were angered by the detention of Ahmad Khbeil, better known as Abu Khawla. He heads the Deir el-Zour Military Council, which was allied with the SDF in its yearslong battle against the Islamic State group in Syria.The clashes raise concerns of more...

‘Breaking Bad’ stars reunite on picket line to call for studios to resume negotiations with actors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — The cast of “Breaking Bad” has reunited to call upon Hollywood studios to resume negotiations with striking screen actors.“We want you to come back to the table with us,” Bryan Cranston said in a plea to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers outside Sony Pictures Studios on Tuesday.Cranston was joined by Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons and other members of the “Breaking Bad” universe in an effort to energize picket lines more than a month after SAG-AFTRA joined striking Hollywood writers.Both guilds are seeking to address issues brought about by the dominance of streaming services, which have changed all aspects of production and pay in the industry.“The way things were structured 10 years ago made a lot of sense and it made it more possible for journeymen-type actors, actors in the middle that are working just as a hard or harder,” Plemons said.By its final season, which aired more than a decade ago, “Breaking Bad” was one of the most watched ...

A Ugandan man is charged with aggravated homosexuality and could face the death penalty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities have charged a man with aggravated homosexuality, which carries a possible death penalty, in the first use of the charge since the enactment in May of an anti-gay law that has been condemned by critics as draconian.The law has widespread support in Uganda but has drawn pressure from abroad on Ugandan officials to repeal the measure. The World Bank earlier this month announced a decision not to consider new loans to Uganda because of the law, drawing an angry response from President Yoweri Museveni. The suspect is identified as a 20-year-old “peasant” in the eastern district of Soroti who was charged on Aug. 18 with having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 41-year-old man, according to the charging document issued by police in the Soroti Central Division. Aggravated homosexuality is defined as cases of same-sex sexual relations involving a minor and other categories of vulnerable people, or when the perpetrator is infected with HIV. The cha...

Saudi Arabia gets some unlikely visitors when a plane full of Israelis makes an emergency landing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A plane carrying Israelis home from the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before flying back to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, in what Israel praised as a sign of goodwill as Washington works to establish formal relations between the two countries. The Air Seychelles flight carrying 128 passengers was forced to land Monday because of an electrical malfunction. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the passengers spent the night at an airport hotel in Jeddah and were flown back by the airline on an alternate plane. Passengers described a frightening stretch of time as an acrid burnt smell filled the cabin and the pilot came over the intercom to say the plane would be forced to make an emergency stop in Saudi Arabia, a kingdom with which Israel has no air links or diplomatic ties. With dozens trapped on board and the plane idling on the tarmac, tension grew, passengers said, while Israeli officials scrambled to figure out w...

13-year-old shot in the back in Fuller Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after a shooting Tuesday evening in the Fuller Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Police Department.Police said they were called to the 5400 block of South Shields Avenue around 7 p.m., where they found a 13-year-old boy who had been shot in the back. After police arrived on scene, the victim was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in good condition.An initial investigation showed the 13-year-old was on the sidewalk in the area when multiple males approached him on foot and opened fire. 10 armed robberies take place in 2 hours on West Side, police say If you or someone you know has information that can help lead police toward making an arrest and conviction in the investigation of this incident, anonymous tips can be filed online at cpdtip.com.Police have no one in custody. Area One detectives are leading the investigation.

'Nothing can prepare you': Austin mass shooting victim's family views graphic bodycam video in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The family of the man killed in the 2021 mass shooting on Sixth Street saw body camera video in court Tuesday as the trial for the suspected gunman began.Kantor's family brought photos of the 25-year-old with loved ones as they addressed reporters after day one of the trial.The shooting took the life of 25-year-old Douglas Kantor. More than a dozen others were injured. Austin 6th Street mass shooting suspect pleads not guilty "Nothing can prepare you to see your little brother in his last waking moments," said Kantor's brother Nick.De'Ondre White is accused of firing into a crowd after a confrontation with a group of people around 1:30 a.m. in June 2021. Most of them, police said, were innocent bystanders.Kantor's family members, including his parents, brother, fiancée and uncle, traveled to Austin from out of town to attend the trial.His mother Julia took the stand Tuesday. Cameras were not allowed inside after opening statements, but the family addressed the m...

Wrongful-death lawsuit alleges Ramsey County Jail failed to provide medical treatment to inmate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:33 GMT

A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday against Ramsey County and sheriff’s office correctional officers alleges they failed to report or give treatment to a man who had suffered a “serious and progressively worsening brain hemorrhage” while jailed last year, resulting in his death nearly three weeks later.The 10-page civil rights lawsuit, filed by attorneys Richard Student and Steve Meshbesher on behalf of Dillon Bakke’s family, alleges the county and four correctional officers violated Bakke’s right to adequate medical treatment under the Fourteenth Amendment.“It was avoidable,” Student said Tuesday. “Had they done anything, they would have been able to get Dillon medical care, they would have saved his life. Instead, 30 hours goes by without anybody doing anything.”Bakke’s mother, Teresa Schnell of St. Paul, has been appointed as the trustee in the wrongful-death action, which names Ramsey County and correctional officers Xue Yang, Alex Grundhofer, Scott Brommeric...