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Hunter Biden tax-and-gun ‘sweetheart deal’ ripped by GOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

President Biden’s son Hunter will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid a full prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars.The news quickly triggered a response from Republicans, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) slamming the Justice Department.“It continues to show the two-tier system in America,” McCarthy said. “If you are the president’s leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. But if you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal.”Hunter Biden, 53, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses of failing to pay his federal income taxes on what he earned from overseas business dealings.The agreement will also avoid prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions agreed to in court. It’s somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time charges...

37-acre brush fire in rural East County prompts evacuations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

SAN DIEO -- A wind-driven wildfire burned dozens of acres Tuesday in rural East County and prompted authorities to order evacuations.The brush fire, dubbed the Blackwood Fire, was reported shortly after 11:30 a.m. near Black Wood and Old Mine roads on the Manzanita Reservation, according to Cal Fire San Diego.At 1:10 p.m., an evacuation order was issued northeast of the Manzanita and Los Posta Indian reservations. Evacuees were told to go to Golden Acorn Casino at 1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo or Lo Posta Casino at 777 Crestwood Road in Boulevard.The County of San Diego emergency map shows the areas under evacuation warning (outlined) and under evacuation order (shaded). Body of missing hiker found at Three Sisters Falls By 2:45 p.m., crews had stopped the spread of the wildfire at 37 acres, Cal Fire said, adding that the fire was 10% contained. One outbuilding was destroyed in the flames.

I-8 lanes closed in El Cajon as crews mop up brush fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in El Cajon, prompting the closure of Interstate 8 lanes.The fire was reported near the 800 block of Murray Drive, according to Heartland Fire Department. 37-acre brush fire in rural East County prompts evacuations All lanes of westbound Interstate 8 are closed east of El Cajon Boulevard, Caltrans San Diego said on Twitter.Earlier Tuesday, a wildfire erupted farther east, prompting evacuations in a rural area near the Manzanita Reservation. Crews halted the spread of that fire at 37 acres.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Tornadoes clobber Mississippi. Hours later, its governor attends Republican fundraiser in Alabama

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves traveled to Alabama for a Republican fundraising event as people in his state were still reeling from back-to-back tornadoes that killed one person, injured dozens and destroyed homes and businesses, and in the midst of lingering power outages from severe thunderstorms.Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Reeves headlined a Republican Governors Association fundraiser on Monday at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Birmingham, according to an invitation obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Ticket prices ranged from $5,000 for one person to $50,000 for four people.Reeves is policy chairperson for the RGA and is seeking a second term as governor this year. His campaign manager Elliott Husbands said in response to questions Tuesday that the event was planned long ago, and money raised there was not earmarked for any specific campaign. Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi have the only governor’s races this year.Reeves has stayed in contact with Missi...

CPA Quebec, Ontario bodies sever ties with national organization

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

TORONTO — The organizations that represent chartered professional accountants in Ontario and Quebec are severing ties with their national counterpart. CPA Canada says it is disappointed and surprised that CPA Ontario and CPA Quebec have decided to break with the national organization. The organization says in a news release that the break triggers an 18-month withdrawal period under the groups’ current agreement. In separate statement, the Ontario and Quebec organizations announced their intent to end their current formal relationships with CPA Canada. The two organizations say their decisions will enable them to better fulfil their missions. CPA Canada says it has worked with provincial, territorial and Bermudian CPA bodies to find a path forward on governance and national representation of CPAs since the profession was unified a decade ago. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.The Canadian Press

What’s that yellow goo in the water along the shores of Toronto Islands?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

If you happened to be at the Toronto Islands this past weekend, you might have seen a bright yellow-green substance floating on the surface of the water and along the shorelines.Visitors to the islands expressed concerns about whether the substance was toxic given the seemingly suspicious colouring, but authorities say there’s no cause for alarm.The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) says the yellow film floating on the water is likely pollen that mixed in with the water.TRCA staff say this happens when large amounts of pollen is released by trees and plants and carried by the wind. When it lands on the surface of the lake, the waves push the pollen to the shore, concentrating it and making it very noticeable along the water’s edge.RELATED: Ontario water and air quality a concern, environment report findsThe water remains safe and there is no danger to people who chose to swim in it. However, they caution that “it is not recommended for people who hav...

UN agencies decry humanitarian crisis in Haiti and seek help for hungry families fleeing violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

JEREMIE, Haiti (AP) — The executive directors of two U.N. agencies warned Tuesday that Haiti’s humanitarian crisis has reached unprecedented levels amid reports of widespread hunger and gang violence.Per capita, the number of Haitians facing emergency-level food insecurity is the second highest in the world, with nearly 5 million struggling to eat every day, said Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program. More than 115,000 children younger than 5 also are expected to struggle with malnutrition this year, a 30% surge compared with last year.“In many ways, Haiti is forgotten,” she told The Associated Press while on a three-day trip to the Caribbean country. “It is urgent that we pay attention.”Overall, more than 5 million people in the country of more than 11 million need urgent humanitarian support, according to the U.N. agencies.“Humanitarian needs are even greater today that after the devastating 2010 earthquake, but with far less resources to respond,” said Cather...

Company says it can’t say for sure whether more air-bag inflators might explode and hurl shrapnel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A company that makes air-bag inflators that have exploded in eight incidents involving two deaths and seven injuries argued Tuesday that it can’t say for sure whether its inflators might cause further such incidents.In a reply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company, ARC Automotive of Knoxville, Tennessee, said that even adhering to industry quality standards cannot fully eliminate the risk of occasional failures in which the air-bag inflators might explode and spew shrapnel.NHTSA has demanded that ARC recall 67 million inflators in driver and passenger front air bags from at least a dozen automakers. Neither ARC nor the auto industry has released a full list of vehicle models with the kind of air bag inflators that have exploded. But at least 33 million vehicles on the road are believed to contain them.ARC has refused to issue a full-scale recall, setting the stage for a possible court fight. The company maintains that no safety defec...

Jill Biden: Consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade ‘go far beyond the right to choose’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden said Tuesday that the consequences for women of losing the constitutional right to an abortion “go far beyond the right to choose” as she hosted a conversation with four women, including a Texas doctor, who shared emotional stories of being denied necessary reproductive care. The first lady invited the women from Texas, Florida and Louisiana to the White House to help highlight the anniversary Saturday of the Supreme Court decision overturning its 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to an abortion.The ruling last June left it up to individual states to set their own abortion policies, and 18 of them — including the home states of Biden’s guests — have put abortion bans in place.“The consequences of these bans go far beyond the right to choose,” the first lady told the women, as she detailed examples of women being denied access to medication or are being forced to go to other states for care. And some doctors,...

Charges are dropped against 2 hospital employees in psychiatric patient’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped criminal charges against two hospital employees in the death of a man who was pinned to the floor while being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital.Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies and three Central State Hospital employees were charged with second-degree murder in the March 6 death of 28-year-old Irvo Otieno. Hospital video captured them trying to restrain Otieno while he was in handcuffs and leg shackles.But on Tuesday, Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said dropping the charges against two hospital employees — Darian Blackwell and Sadarius Williams — would “serve justice more than any other course of action would,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.“The decision to withdraw the charges was heavy, but it was not difficult,” Baskervill said in an email. “I believe this places the prosecution of Irvo Otieno’s homicide in the strongest possible position upon my departure.”Baskervil...