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Allies of Russian opposition leader Navalny post billboards asking citizens to vote against Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Opposition activists in Russia came up with a way to get around Kremlin censorship while urging citizens to vote against President Vladimir Putin in an election next year: billboards disguised as a New Year’s greeting.The Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny paid for billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and other Russian cities which said “Russia” and “Happy New Year.” But a website address and QR code printed on the signs led to a site titled “Russia without Putin.”There, voters were encouraged to oppose the longtime Russian leader on March 17, the day that Russian lawmakers set Thursday for the presidential election. The website says the election is important for Putin as a referendum on whether Russians approve of his war in Ukraine, rather than a real contest for the presidency. “We understand that free and fair elections in Russia, like in any civilized European country, unfortunately do not exist,” Ivan Zhdanov, t...

Georgia lawmakers send redrawn congressional map keeping 9-5 Republican edge to judge for approval

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — For Georgia Democrats who didn’t get what they want out of a special legislative session to redraw voting districts, their retort Thursday was simple: “We’ll see you in court.”State lawmakers on Thursday completed a special session with the House voting 98-71 to give final passage to a congressional map that preserves a 9-5 edge for Republicans in Georgia’s congressional delegation to Washington, while creating a court-ordered Black-majority district on the west side of metro Atlanta and sharply transforming a congressional district now represented by Democrat Lucy McBath“This plan adds the required district; it complies with Judge Jones’ order,” said House Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee Chairman Rob Leverett, a Republican from Elberton. “It fulfills our obligation as a General Assembly with respect to congressional districts.”It joins a state House and state Senate map that also would safeguard GOP control of Georgia’s General Assembly. All three distric...

Jayden Daniels, the dazzling quarterback for LSU, is the AP college football player of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is The Associated Press college football player of the year, the school’s second winner in the past five seasons.Daniels received 35 of the 51 first-place votes and 130 total points from AP Top 25 poll voters. The Heisman Trophy finalist finished comfortably ahead of Washington quarterback Michael Penix, who was second with 15 first-place votes and 97 points.Oregon QB Bo Nix was third, with Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison fourth and Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II fifth. Nix received the other first-place vote. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 AP Player of the Year and last year’s Heisman winner, did not receive votes this season.Daniels, Penix, Nix and Harrison are the finalists for the Heisman, which will be presented in New York on Saturday. The winner of the AP award has differed from the Heisman winner just twice in the past two decades.The last LSU player to be named AP Player of the Yea...

Targeted by mistake: Quebec police conduct raids tied to organized crime killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec police are conducting raids and seizures tied to a series of organized crime-related killings, including the deaths of three people who were mistakenly targeted.Today’s operation, which involves provincial police and Montreal police, is connected with killings in Montreal and its North Shore from the mid-1990s to today.Police say the raids — in Laval, Mirabel, Rosemère and Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot — are primarily concerned with the deaths of the three people mistakenly killed.The victims are Lida Phon, 32, who was killed in a Laval home in August 2012; Domenico Facchini, 37, who was shot dead in a cafe in Montreal’s St-Léonard borough in December 2012; and Nicolas Lavoie-Cloutier, 18, killed in Terrebonne, Que., in June 2018.Police say those targeted in the raids are linked to the Italian Mafia, the Hells Angels, and street gangs.Neither police force would give details on the nature of today’s seizures, but they urged anyone with informati...

2 Toronto men facing child porn charges in separate investigations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

Two Toronto men are facing child pornography charges in separate investigations, Toronto police revealed on Thursday.Officers executed a search warrant at a residence in the Yonge and Bloor streets area on Wednesday, Dec. 6, allegedly seizing evidence that led to the arrest of 47-year-old James Morris.His charges include luring a person under 14 years of age, posses child pornography, access child pornography and make available child pornography. He was also charged with three counts of breach of recognizance.In a separate case, officers executed a search warrant in the Leslie Street and Cummer Avenue area on Nov. 30, 2023.Officers allegedly seized a quantity of child sexual abuse material.Julian Kriger, 69, was arrested and charged with two counts each of possess child pornography and access child pornography.

CosMc's: McDonald's reveals menu for new restaurant concept, first test location opening in Bolingbrook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

Correction: This story has been updated with an accurate link to the source of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski's comments.CHICAGO (KTVI/NEXSTAR) – CosMc’s, the new restaurant concept from McDonald’s, is aiming to attract coffee-drinkers and beverage enthusiasts who might otherwise spend their money at Starbucks or Dunkin’.On Wednesday, McDonald’s formally announced the menu at its CosMc’s test locations. The first CosMc's location opens Friday in Bolingbrook, near the intersection of Boughton and Weber roads, with approximately 10 CosMc's pilot locations set to open by the end of 2024. Based off an obscure McDonald's character from the 1980s, CosMc's will feature offerings ranging from coffee and tea drinks to frappes and slushies, with names such as the "S'mores Cold Brew," "Popping Pear Slush" and "Sour Tango Lemonade." There’s also a line of “Signature Galactic Boosts,” fruity drinks that appear to feature either a caffeinated element, kombucha powder or a vitamin “shot,” among...

Rep. Jamaal Bowman censured by Republican-led House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – For the third time this year, the House has censured a representative. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who pled guilty to pulling a House office building fire alarm in September, was the target Thursday.Bowman’s charges will be dismissed once he completes a three-month probationary period.“It’s painfully obvious to myself, my colleagues and the American people that the Republican Party is deeply unserious and unable to legislate,” Bowman said Wednesday. “Their censure resolution against me today continues to demonstrate their inability to govern and serve the American people.”Bowman joins two other Democratic lawmakers who have been censured this year. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was targeted over his comments as chair of the Intel Committee during the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, was censured for her statements regarding the war in Gaza.The censure of a lawmaker carries no...

White House delays banning menthol cigarettes yet again: When is the next target date?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

(The Hill) – The Biden administration is delaying a decision on whether to ban menthol flavored cigarettes amid intense lobbying from critics including the tobacco industry, industry-backed groups and some Black criminal justice advocates. The delay is alarming public health groups, which fear that the White House could cave to pressure and delay the rule indefinitely, especially against the backdrop of President Biden’s reelection bid. The target date for releasing the rule was initially August, which was then pushed back to the end of the year. The White House in its regulatory agenda released Wednesday set a new target for March 2024.  “Any delay in finalizing the FDA’s [Food and Drug Administration's] menthol rule would be a gift to the tobacco industry at the expense of Black lives,” said Yolanda Richardson, CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “We urge the administration to keep its promise and issue a final rule by the end of this year.”  Can you bring ...

Stream plans to begin East Sixth Street transformation in new year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- A substantial facelift of Austin’s East Sixth Street will begin in the new year.Stream Realty Partners LP said preliminary preservation work is planned to begin in early January as part of a major restoration of more than 30 properties along the popular street with Congress Avenue to the west and I-35 to the east.The initial work will focus on restoring the facades and interiors of the Stream-owned buildings that have fallen into disrepair. The majority of interior and exterior work is scheduled to begin late in the first quarter of 2024 and early in the second quarter of the year, according to the developer.The firm also disclosed that it will begin looking for new tenants in 2024 but it did not share if it is still actively looking for contractors to carry out the renovations.Read the full story at Austin Business Journal.

How the Gophers got quarterback recruit Drake Lindsey out of the Razorbacks’ backyard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:36 GMT

The Gophers football program moved fast one day in April.Georgia prep quarterback Aaron Philo had de-committed from Minnesota’s 2024 recruiting class, and U coaches were looking for another QB option when they came across Drake Lindsey in Fayetteville, Ark.Approaching 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Lindsey had thrown 3,778 yards, 37 touchdowns and three interceptions in 11 games during his junior year in the state’s largest class. But he only had scholarship offers from Alabama-Birmingham, Nevada-Las Vegas and Colorado State.Gophers quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh watched some of Lindsey’s film and asked Fayetteville coach Jay Wilkinson about why Lindsey was still on the market.“(Harbaugh) almost felt like it was too good to be true,” Wilkinson recalled to the Pioneer Press. “He’s like, ‘What’s going on with this kid?’ ”Nothing out of the ordinary, Wilkinson assured him. Lindsey just had a slower start to the recruiting process after playing in mop...