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Black voters file federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina Senate map

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A lawsuit filed Monday in North Carolina alleges newly adopted district boundaries for the state Senate divide a cluster of predominantly Black counties in the northeast corner of the state in a way that unfairly dilutes the voting power of Black residents.Two Black voters drawn into a majority-white district are asking a federal judge to block state officials from conducting future elections under a new map they argue unlawfully deprives them the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. Plaintiffs Rodney Pierce, a social studies teacher from Halifax County, and Moses Matthews, a retired chemist from Martin County, are requesting the court order a redrawn map including an eastern North Carolina district where minority voters would have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Attorneys for the eastern North Carolina residents also filed a motion to expedite proceedings, asking the court to finish arguments and decide on a motion for a pr...

North Korea reportedly tells Japan it will make 3rd attempt to launch spy satellite this month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea told Japan that it will make a third attempt to launch a military spy satellite later this month, Japanese media reported Tuesday.Kyodo News, citing Japan’s coast guard, said that North Korea notified Tokyo of its plan to launch the spy satellite sometime between Nov. 20 and Nov. 30.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told officials to try to talk Pyongyang into scrapping the plan in cooperation with the United States and South Korea, the Kyodo report said.In North Korea’s two previous attempts earlier this year, the rockets carrying the satellites failed during the launch due to technical reasons.North Korea had vowed a third launch would take place sometime in October, but failed to follow through with the plan without giving any reason.North Korea says it needs a spy satellite to deal with what it calls increasing U.S.-led military threats. South Korea retrieved debris from the first launch and called the satellite too crude to perform mili...

911 call center says its misidentified crossing before derailment of Chicago-bound Amtrak train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. (AP) — A 911 call center on Monday took some responsibility for an Amtrak train derailment last week in southwestern Michigan, saying it misidentified a crossing and contacted a different railroad to warn that a car was stuck on tracks.The train with 200 passengers crashed into the empty car and a tow truck Thursday night near New Buffalo, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Chicago. Six people on the train were taken to a hospital, though their injuries weren’t serious.The Chicago-bound train derailed but remained upright.The Berrien County Public Safety Communication Center said it received two 911 calls about a car on the tracks, roughly 40 minutes before the crash.Because of a “software issue,” the wrong crossing was identified and CSX railroad was contacted — not Amtrak, the county said.“It appears a technology failure and misidentification of a crossing contributed to the accident,” 911 Director Caitlin Sampsell said in a statement.Sampsell’s...

Texas attorney accused of smuggling drug-laced papers to inmates in county jail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas attorney has been accused of using work-related visits to a county jail to smuggle in legal paperwork laced with ecstasy and synthetic marijuana to inmates over the past several months, authorities announced Monday.Ronald Lewis, 77, was arrested on Friday after arriving at the Harris County Jail in Houston to visit an inmate, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a news conference. During his arrest, Lewis had 11 sheets of paper believed to be laced with narcotics, according to authorities. Lewis has been charged with two counts of bringing a prohibited substance into a correctional facility. He is free after posting bonds totaling $15,000. An attorney for Lewis did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Monday. Records with the State Bar of Texas show that Lewis has been a licensed attorney since 1982.His arrest came after a monthslong investigation by the jail-based Criminal Investigations and Security Division, a new unit created earlier this ...

Mississippi man killed by police SUV receives funeral months after first burial in paupers’ cemetery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Dexter Wade received a dignified funeral and burial Monday in Mississippi’s capital city, months after he was hit and killed by a police SUV and officials first buried his body in a pauper’s grave without notifying his family that he was dead.Under a gray sky, his mother, Bettersten Wade, tossed a handful of dirt onto the vault that held his shiny red casket after it was slowly lowered into the ground in a south Jackson cemetery where, so far, only a few other bodies are buried.Surrounded by family and friends, she said to her son: “I’ll see your face again.”Dexter Wade, a 37-year-old Black man, died March 5 after an off-duty Jackson Police Department officer struck him with a department SUV while Wade was walking across Interstate 55. Police have not released identifying information, including the officer’s race. The Associated Press called three phone numbers for police department administrators and a public information officer Monday evenin...

Fallen Chicago firefighter laid to rest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago firefighter who died after battling a blaze on the city's North Side last week was laid to rest Monday. 39-year-old Andrew Price died after he fell through a light shaft while battling a fire that broke out at a tavern in Lincoln Park on Monday.According to CFD, a procession from the North side of Navy Pier to the east end took place around 8:30 a.m.  NTSB: Preliminary investigation reveals design flaw likely to blame for CTA Yellow Line crash Private visitation began at 9 a.m. before public visitation began at 10 a.m. CFD then held a walkthrough at 11:30 a.m.  A service was then held at Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom.Following the service, a graveside assembly took place outside on the east end of the pier and the procession then moved in reverse, from the east end to the north. 3 people, including police officer, injured in car crash on South Side Price, who was known as “Drew” by co-workers, joined the department in Mar...

American Airlines flight attendants ask for permission to strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines flight attendants are asking federal officials for the right to go on strike, possibly before the end of the Christmas and New Year's travel rush, but American said there was “no possibility” of a walkout over the holidays.Leaders of the flight attendants' union say they are frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations over a new contract for workers who have not seen raises since 2019.The Association of Professional Flight Attendants petitioned the National Mediation Board on Monday to declare the negotiations deadlocked and give the union permission to strike after a 30-day “cooling-off period.” Frontier Airlines offers $499 ‘all-you-can-fly’ annual pass Meanwhile, pilots at Southwest opened a “strike center” in Dallas this week. Officials with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association say they too will ask for the right to strike if they don't have a contract deal with the airline in the next few days.A digital clock on the wal...

Chicago man accused of mail theft arrested again while on pretrial release

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

CHICAGO — Authorities have arrested a Chicago man accused of mail theft for the second time in two weeks.According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), thanks to a joint investigation with the Chicago Police Department, 36-year-old Gustavo Balleza, a Chicago resident, was taken into custody on Monday in connection with several burglaries across the city. Car crashes into business in Oak Lawn USPIS officials say pending charges against Balleza include "a potential of 13 felony counts of burglary" in Chicago.Authorities say Balleza was last taken into custody on Nov. 7 after authorities identified him as a suspect allegedly involved in over 15 burglaries and mail thefts in Lincoln Park over the past month.“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to defending the nation’s mail system from criminal activity, preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail, and protecting United States Postal Service employees. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service values our law enforcement p...

Deadly listeria outbreak in 7 states tied to peaches, plums and nectarines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert Monday regarding a deadly multi-state listeria outbreak.As of Nov. 17, 11 people from seven states were infected with the outbreak strain of listeria. The CDC said one person in California died, and another got sick during pregnancy, forcing a preterm labor. At least 10 people were so sick they required hospitalization, but the CDC notes that the true case count is likely much higher since many people recover without being tested for listeria.Three people in both California and Florida got sick, and one person in each state of Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio also got sick.Samples confirming the listeria strain in the 11 patients were collected between Aug. 22, 2018 and Aug. 16, 2023. Confirmed cases ranged from 30 to 80 years of age, with nearly 75% over the age of 65. Does your smartphone expire? Sort of Investigators interviewed people who got sick and traced the source...

Austin airport now secure after 'suspicious package' incident reported

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is now secure after a "suspicious package incident" was reported earlier on Monday, officials said.Law enforcement was previously investigating after a "suspicious item" was reported at the airport, officials posted on social media just after 4:30 p.m.Airport officials said "expect for it to take several minutes for vehicle traffic to resume back to normal."