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California investigating whether DeSantis involved in flying asylum-seekers from Texas to Sacramento

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Officials were investigating Tuesday whether Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis was behind a flight that picked up asylum-seekers on the Texas border and flew them — apparently without their knowledge — to California’s capital, even as faith-based groups scrambled to find housing and food for them. About 20 people ranging in age from 21 to 30 were flown by private jet to Sacramento on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. It was the second such flight in four days.Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and faith-based groups who have been assisting the migrants scheduled a news conference Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom lashed out at DeSantis as a “small, pathetic man” and suggested the state could pursue kidnapping charges. DeSantis and other Florida state officials were mum, as they were initially last year when they flew 49 Venezuelan migrants to the upscale Massachusetts enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, luring them o...

Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying major dam near Kherson, warns of widespread flooding

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine they control, alerting residents further along the Dnipro River to evacuate and warning of flooding downstream.The Ukrainian Interior Ministry called for residents of 10 villages on the river’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances and leave, while cautioning against possible disinformation.Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in a video posted to Telegram shortly before 7 a.m. that “the Russian army has committed yet another act of terror,” and warned that water will reach “critical levels” within five hours.The Associated Press

‘Jerry Maguire’ star Cuba Gooding Jr. faces start of civil trial in rape case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. faces the start of a civil trial Tuesday on accusations that he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago, an encounter that he contends was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant.The trial was scheduled to begin with jury selection in Manhattan federal court as the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star confronts allegations that he met the woman in Manhattan, persuaded her to join him at a hotel, and convinced her to stop at his room so he could change clothing.The woman, who has proceeded anonymously but has been told she must reveal her name at trial, said in her lawsuit that Gooding raped her in his room. His lawyers, though, insist that it was consensual sex and that she bragged afterward to others that she had sex with a celebrity.The lawsuit seeks $6 million in damages. It was filed against a man who authorities say has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, u...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie set to launch 2024 presidential bid at New Hampshire town hall

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is set to launch his bid for the Republican nomination for president at a town hall in New Hampshire on Tuesday evening.The campaign will be the second for Christie, who lost to Trump in 2016 and went on to become a close on-and-off adviser before breaking with the former president over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. He has cast himself as the only candidate willing to directly take on former President Donald Trump.Christie will enter a growing primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Former Vice President Mike Pence will be formally launching his own campaign in Iowa on Wednesday.Christie, who during his time as New Jersey’s governor established a reputation as a fighter with a knack for creating viral moments of confrontation, faces an uphill battle to the nomination in a party that...

Takeaways of AP investigation into a missing boat of 180 Rohingya refugees

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

TEKNAF, Bangladesh (AP) — On Dec. 1, 2022, a boat carrying around 180 Rohingya refugees set out from Bangladesh, bound for Indonesia. On board were babies, pregnant women and children fleeing surging violence in Bangladesh’s refugee camps. One week later, the boat vanished.The Associated Press has reconstructed the passengers’ journey based on dozens of interviews, audio recordings of calls from the boat, photos and videos. The AP’s reporting reveals the boat sank during a storm a week into its journey.Human rights advocates say what happened to those on board is the latest example of political inaction and global apathy toward the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar. At least 348 Rohingya died or went missing while attempting to cross the Bay of Bengal or Andaman Sea last year — the highest death toll since 2014, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency. Yet the UNHCR says its repeated pleas to maritime authorities to rescue some of these distresse...

A boat carrying 180 Rohingya refugees vanished. A frantic phone call helped untangle the mystery.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

TEKNAF, Bangladesh (AP) — The wind had whipped the waves to nearly three times the woman’s height when her panicked voice crackled over the phone. “Our boat has sunk!” Setera Begum shouted, as a storm threatened to spill her and around 180 others into the inky black sea south of Bangladesh. “Only half of it is still afloat!”On the other end of the line, hundreds of miles away in Malaysia, was her husband, Muhammed Rashid, who picked up the phone at 10:59 p.m. his time on Dec. 7, 2022. He had not seen his family in 11 years. And he had only learned days earlier that Setera and two of their daughters had fled surging violence in Bangladesh’s camps for ethnic Rohingya refugees.Now, Rashid feared, his family’s frantic bid to escape would cost them the very thing they were trying to save — their lives. For despite Setera’s pleas, no help would come, not for her or for the babies, the 3-year-old afraid of the sea or the pregnant women also on board.Rashid listened to his wife’s terr...

Soccer players demand change for rampant online racist abuse, turn to AI for protection

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Missing penalties in a major international soccer final was bad enough for three Black players on England’s national team. Being subjected to a torrent of racial abuse on social media in the aftermath made it even worse.Monkey emojis. Being told to go home. The N-word.The even sadder part? Everyone knew it was coming.“It’s stupid,” said Nedum Onuoha, a retired Black player who was in the top divisions of English and U.S. soccer for 16 years. “But are we surprised?”It’s the latest form of racism: technology-fueled, visual, permanently intrusive and 24/7 — a haunting reminder of the 1980s-style monkey chants and banana-throwing in a social media era.And it is spiraling out of control on platforms where anonymity is the golden ticket for racists.“Every time it happens, it knocks you back and floors you,” Onuoha told The Associated Press. “Just when you think everything is OK, it’s a reminder that it’s not. It’s a reminder of how some people actually see you.”Racism is the...

Missouri man facing execution for killing 2 jailers in failed bid to help inmate escape in 2000

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

A man who shot and killed two rural Missouri jailers nearly 23 years ago during a failed bid to help an inmate escape is set to be executed Tuesday evening.Michael Tisius, 42, is scheduled to die by injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the small Randolph County Jail on June 22, 2000. Tisius’ lawyers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution, alleging in their appeals that a juror at a sentencing hearing was illiterate, in violation of Missouri law.The Supreme Court has already turned aside another argument — that Tisius should be spared because he was just 19 at the time of the killings. A 2005 Supreme Court ruling bars executions of those under 18 when their crime occurred, but attorneys for Tisius argued that even at 19 when the killings occurred, Tisius’ should have his sentence commuted to life in prison without parole.Advocates for Tisius also have said he was largely neglected as a child and was homel...

Stanford tops Texas A&M to win regional, Cardinal to host Longhorns in supers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Saborn Campbell tripled and scored the go-ahead run, Malcolm Moore added a two-run home run and Stanford beat Texas A&M 7-1 on Monday night to win the Stanford Regional.Top-seeded Stanford (42-17) won its third straight regional and 23rd overall. The Cardinal will be shooting for their 19th College World Series appearance when they square off against Texas in the super-regional opener. Stanford won back-to-back titles in 1987-88 and finished as the runners-up in 2000-01 and 2003.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersTexas A&M (38-27), the No. 2 seed, fell short of winning back-to-back regional titles. The Aggies made their seventh CWS appearance last season.The teams traded home runs in the second inning. Jace LaViolette, who had three of the team's seven hits, homered to give Texas A&M the lead. It lasted until Braden Montgomery went deep...

Here's why I'm sold on Apple's $3500 headset

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:12 GMT

Apple made a lot of announcements at their Worldwide Developers Conference 2023, but one is getting a lot of people talking.It's a $3500 virtual reality headset called Apple Vision Pro.I was there as Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked things off at the company's impeccable campus in Cupertino."Welcome to what's going to be our best WWDC ever," said Cook, foreshadowing what would come later.First, Apple showed off a new 15-inch MacBook Air laptop, then new features coming in iOS 17, then new iPad features, Apple Watch updates and even a handy way that the iPhone will help you find a lost Apple TV remote.Then finally, a moment so big, Cook brought back one of Steve Jobs' favorite phrases.There's "one more thing..." The audience, filled with Apple employees, journalists, tech influencers and developers from around the world, clapped in anticipation.Soon, the future, as we always imagined, was right in front of us.A pair of ski-like goggles called Apple Vision Pro. Incredibly slick and capable, ...