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Trump is liable in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case, judge rules; January trial will determine damages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge ruled that the jury hearing E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit will only need to decide how much money Donald Trump will have to pay her, after the judge found the former president was liable for making defamatory statements.The finding is a significant blow to Trump, who is facing numerous criminal indictments and civil lawsuits – many of them coming to a head as he embarks on a presidential campaign.Judge Lewis Kaplan said that a federal jury’s verdict earlier this year against Trump will carry over to the defamation case set to go to trial in January involving statements Trump made in 2019 about Carroll’s sexual assault allegations.Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim.In May after a two-week trial, a jury found Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her when he said in 2022 that he didn’t rape her, didn’t know h...

The Patriots get great news at practice ahead of Sunday’s season opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots practiced with a full roster Wednesday, a sign of excellent heath heading into this weekend’s season opener against the Eagles.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Devin McCourty believes Patriots are happy Matt Patricia ‘experiment is over’ New England Patriots | Bill Belichick Patriots to have Jack Jones vs. Eagles, won’t confirm status beyond Week 1 New England Patriots | Callahan: Matt Patricia knows the Patriots better than any ex-coach ever — and they don’t care New England Patriots | Patriots outlook: NFL sources expecting franchise to finish in middle of the pack New England Patriots | Patriots QB Mac Jones reveals that Tom Brady has helped ‘mentor’ him Every member of their 53-man roster and practice squad was present for initial stretching and drills. Wide receiver DeVante Parker appeared limited for a second straight practice. Vetera...

Wisconsin Democrats combat threatened impeachment of court justice with $4M effort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Democratic Party on Wednesday launched a $4 million effort to pressure Republicans to back down from impeaching a new liberal state Supreme Court justice being targeted after she criticized GOP-drawn legislative electoral maps and spoke in favor of abortion rights.After investing nearly $10 million in electing Justice Janet Protasiewicz, the effort is meant to protect what Democrats hailed as a major political victory. The judge’s election tipped the balance of power in the state Supreme Court, giving Democrats the upper hand in state’s fights over abortion and redistricting. “Republicans are holding a political nuclear football,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said in reference to impeachment. He said the threat amounted to “political extortion.”But Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who has been the most outspoken about possible impeachment, said on WISN-AM that Democrats were “trying to intimidate us” but Republicans...

Vancouver-based writer John Vaillant among contenders for a prestigious non-fiction prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Books about the perilous state of our world, our food and our relationship with technology are in the running for Britain’s leading non-fiction book award, the Baillie Gifford Prize.The 13-book long list announced Wednesday includes Vancouver-based John Vaillant’s look at the reality of climate change, “Fire Weather”; Chris van Tulleken’s dietary warning “Ultra Processed People”; and “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity” by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson.Best-selling American author David Grann is nominated for the stirring seafaring yarn “The Wager,” while physician-writer Siddhartha Mukherjee is in the running with “The Song of the Cell.”British journalist Hannah Barnes is on the list for “Time to Think,” which charts the demise of Britain’s controversial Tavistock gender clinic for children.Other contenders examine key moments in history, including Tania Branigan’s look at China’s Cultural Revolution, “Red Memory,” and Kat...

Romania hosts summit to boost ties between 12 EU countries and partners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A two-day summit in Romania began on Wednesday bringing together 12 European Union member states situated between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, as the grouping of mostly formerly communist countries aims to boost ties amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.The Three Seas Initiative, which is being held in the capital, Bucharest, hosts high-ranking officials from EU countries as well as representatives from partner countries and aims to improve interconnectivity in the transportation, energy, and digital fields. Before the event, the office of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that during the summit, he would emphasize the importance of the initiative a year and a half after Russia’s “brutal and illegal aggression” against Ukraine for its importance in strengthening regional and European resilience.”Addressing the initiative on Wednesday via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s Danube ports are ...

California judge halts district policy requiring parents be told if kids change pronouns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday halted a Southern California school district from requiring parents to be notified if their children change their gender identification or pronouns at school.San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza ruled after California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District for adopting a policy requiring schools to tell parents when their children change their pronouns or use a bathroom of a gender other than the one listed on their official paperwork. “Today’s decision by the San Bernardino Superior Court rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ students and protects kids from harm by immediately halting the board’s forced outing policy,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.Garza’s order halts the district’s policy while Bonta’s lawsuit continues. Full details of the order and Garza’s reasoning were not immediately available.Bonta said his office will continue to challenge the p...

Grand Slam tournaments are getting hotter. US Open players and fans are feeling that this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Murray prepared for the steamy conditions often found at the U.S. Open by simulating the “brutal heat and humidity” in New York this time of year with the help of, well, an actual steam room at his home.The 36-year-old British tennis star set the humidity in there at 70% and spent hours riding a stationary bike nearby with the thermostat cranked up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius), making the air feel as muggy as it does every summer around Flushing Meadows, where the year’s last Grand Slam tournament will conclude Sunday. “Just to try and help with the heat adaptation,” explained Murray, who claimed the title in New York in 2012 but lost in mild conditions in the second round this time.If the start of competition at the 2023 U.S. Open offered a bit of a reprieve for athletes, ball crews and spectators alike, thanks to highs mostly in the 70s F (20s C), that has decidedly changed. The temperature hit 90 F (32 C) on Sunday and again Tuesday, leaving players ...

Trial opens for Trump White House adviser charged with refusing to cooperate with Jan. 6 Committee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House adviser to President Donald Trump acted as if he were “above the law” when he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors argued Wednesday as his trial got underway.Peter Navarro, charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, didn’t ignore the House Jan. 6 Committee, instead telling members to contact Trump about what might be protected by executive privilege, Navarro’s attorney said. A judge has found the privilege argument alone isn’t a defense against the charges because Navarro couldn’t show evidence that the Republican president had invoked it.Navarro, a senior trade adviser, was subpoenaed in February 2022 by the House panel investigating how and why a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the certification of the presidential vote for Joe Biden, a Democrat. Navarro had promoted Trump’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud, a...

‘Freedom Convoy’ got more volatile as protest went on, police officer tells court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

OTTAWA — The longer “Freedom Convoy” demonstrators blockaded Ottawa streets in protest of COVID-19 public health restrictions last year, the more volatile the relationship between police and protesters became, an Ottawa police officer testified Wednesday. Insp. Russell Lucas was called as a Crown witness in the criminal trial of key protest organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber to testify about his role in co-ordinating the police response to the convoy.Lich and Barber are co-accused of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, obstructing police and intimidation for their role in the three-week demonstration.Barber faces an additional charge of counselling others to disobey a court order.Thousands of people and big-rig trucks gridlocked Ottawa for three weeks to protest COVID-19 public health measures and the federal Liberal government, which eventually invoked the Emergencies Act.Lucas, who served as an incident commander during the protest, told the court tha...

Airlines face growing pressure from pilot unions, as threat of brain drain looms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

MONTREAL — Pilots are demanding better wages and benefits from their employers, raising financial pressure on airlines that are just starting to recover from the pandemic.The union representing some 320 aviators at WestJet Encore, the carrier’s regional service, announced Tuesday they plan to launch negotiations on their second collective agreement.The move by the Air Line Pilots Association comes after 1,800 pilots with WestJet’s main operation and its budget subsidiary Swoop ratified a new deal in June that brings them onto a level pay scale, giving flight crews a 24 per cent wage bump over four years and resulting in Swoop’s shutdown at the end of October.Days later, some 4,500 Air Canada pilots kick-started the bargaining process, as unions seek gains that will bring them closer to deals in the U.S. Between March and September, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay hikes ranging from 34 p...