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Rights group says Myanmar’s military rulers have cracked down on lawyers, abused legal system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Lawyers representing critics of Myanmar’s military government face harassment and attacks ranging from threats and arrests to unfair trials and even torture, a human rights organization charged Thursday, saying such actions reflect a broader assault on the country’s justice system.Human Rights Watch also accused the country’s military authorities of imposing systematic obstacles and restrictions on lawyers to prevent them from taking the cases of political detainees.“Myanmar’s already tenuous justice system has declined drastically, failing to uphold basic due process rights,” the group said in a statement marking the release of a 39-page report, “‘Our Numbers are Dwindling’: Myanmar’s Post-Coup Crackdown on Lawyers.”The report cites the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group which keeps detailed records of arrests and casualties perpetrated by the authorities, as tallying at least 32 lawyers who are in pretrial detention or serving sentences on vario...

Ex-boyfriend of missing Minnesota woman arrested after human remains found along roadway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

WINONA, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, after a deputy found human remains in a rural area.Madeline Kingsbury, whose 27th birthday was June 1, was last seen on March 31 after dropping off her two young children at daycare in Winona, a southern Minnesota town of about 26,000 residents. Police said a deputy found human remains Wednesday afternoon in brush along a highway near Mabel, about 46 miles (74 kilometers) south of Winona.The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office is working to identify the remains, but a news release from Winona police said the body was discovered “using information generated during the Madeline Kingsbury investigation.”Later Wednesday, police arrested a 29-year-old man who is the father of Kingsbury’s two children. Jail logs show that he was being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. As of Thursday morning, charges ...

Romanian health care workers protest for higher wages, more staff, and better working conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Thousands of health care workers held a protest in Romania’s capital on Thursday, demanding higher wages, more staff, and better working conditions amid what they say are shortfalls that will lead to declining medical service standards. Medical workers from across the country converged on central Bucharest, where they blew whistles, honked horns, and waved flags. Some brandished signs that read: “Only together we can succeed.”The “Health Solidarity” Federation which organized the protest said it was concerned that a “decline in real wages driven by inflation” would lead to a “decrease in the quality of health care” in Romania, which joined the European Union in 2007.“Previous wage increases have driven higher quality of health services, with wage spending proving to be the best investment for public health,” the federation said in a press release. After Romania joined the EU, high levels of health care workers moved abroad seeking higher wages, which also s...

French pension reform opponents fail to pass repeal bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

Opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform failed on Thursday to pass a repeal bill, in their latest effort to maintain the retirement age at 62.Centrist opposition group LIOT decided to withdraw its bill a couple of hours after the heated debate started because the text had been emptied of its initial content. Macron’s unpopular reform provides that the legal retirement age will go up to 64 by 2030. Bertrand Pancher, from the LIOT group, said “this pension reform has been enacted, but at what cost? At what cost for the more modest of our fellow citizens who will suffer more from the impact of this reform? … And at what cost for our democracy, our social cohesion?”The repeal bill was supported by the left and the far-right.Macron’s centrist party doesn’t have a majority in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, but it allied with some Republican lawmakers to push back the opposition’s efforts.As a result, the key article stipulati...

Supreme Court of Canada won’t hear unvaccinated woman’s case for organ donation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will not hearthe appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.Annette Lewis was diagnosed with a terminal disease in 2018 and was told she would not survive unless she received an organ transplant. She was placed on a transplant wait-list in 2020, but was informed a year later she would need to get the COVID-19 vaccine to receive an organ. Lewis said taking the vaccine would offend her conscience and argued the requirement violated her Charter rights to life, conscience, liberty and security of the person. The case was dismissed by an Alberta court, which said the Charter has no application to clinical treatment decisions, in particular for doctors establishing preconditions for organ transplants.The Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the decision, prompting Lewis’s appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2023.The Canadian...

'We will destroy you': Northwest Indiana man accused of showing up to Taylor Swift's residence, stalking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

LAPORTE COUNTY, Ind. — On the morning of Taylor Swift's first Chicago show, a Northwest Indiana man was arrested after allegedly showing up to her Nashville residence last month.Mitchell Taebel, 36, of Long Beach, entered a not guilty plea Tuesday on the charges of stalking by threatening serious injury or death, intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment.The investigation began on March 25 after Taebel allegedly sent pictures of weapons via social media to members of Taylor Swift's management company — threatening to "destroy them."Five days later, Taebel was accused of leaving a message to Swift's father that he is her "soulmate" and "he is the only one that can make her secure."On April 5, Taebel allegedly sent a threat via fake Instagram accounts to one of the dancers on Swift's Eras Tour. According to court documents, Taebel posted a picture of someone firing a gun at a range and stated "if today there is the sexual performance of Vigilant s**t, you can be sure that we wi...

Water rescue demo at North Avenue Beach — Chicago public safety community prepares for the summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

CHICAGO — Multiple Chicago public safety organizations are focused on summer safety both on and off the water.The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), Chicago Fire Department (CFD) , Chicago Police Department (CPD) , the U.S. Coast Guard, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Conservation Police, the Chicago Park District, and the Chicago Harbor Safety Committee will all be represented at a Thursday media event. Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into the weekend Part of the event will be a water rescue demonstration to both show the preparedness of the organizations, and provide them another training exercise. A press conference is expected to be held following the demonstration.WGN plans to livestream the demonstration and the following press conference within this story beginning at approximately 10:15 a.m.The press release for the event included information about each involved organization. Full text below.Chicago Fire Depa...

Naperville man charged after two seniors attacked outside construction site

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

WHEATON Ill. — A man is facing felony charges after two men in their late 60s were attacked outside a construction site in Naperville Saturday. According to police, 33-year-old Eric Conklin is facing three felonies of aggravated battery, person over 60 and two counts of aggravated battery of persons over 60. Police say near a residential construction site on 80th Street, Conklin exited the construction site and attacked two men, ages 65 and 68, while they were removing firewood. Man, 54, dead after gas station shooting in Alsip It is alleged that Conklin came out of the home and threw rocks at both of the men and their trucks. He also allegedly hit one of them several times on the back of the head with a 2 by 4 wood. Police located him in the backyard of a nearby residence where he quickly became unresponsive. Conkin was transported to Edward Hospital for evaluation. One of the victims suffered a concussion, broken hand, wrist and multiple lacerations to the head. Concklin was t...

A Chicago pro team will sponsor a car in NASCAR's Chicago Street Race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

CHICAGO - One of Chicago's professional sports teams has decided to play a part in the first stock car races ever to be held downtown in July.The White Sox have announced that they'll have primary sponsorship on @tydillon's No. 77 car during the @NASCARChicago Street Race on July 1-2..The @SpireMotorsport driver will drive a White Sox-theme Chevy Camaro & race suit during the event..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/4A72WNO7Oc— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) June 8, 2023The White Sox announced on Thursday morning that they will have the primary sponsorship on the No. 77 car of Ty Dillon during the inaugural Chicago Street Race in July.As part of the partnership with Spire Motorsports, he will drive a White Sox-themed Chevy Camaro in the Cup Series race that will be run on Sunday, July 2 on the 2.2-mile street course downtown. Courtesy: Chicago White SoxCourtesy: Chicago White SoxCourtesy: Chicago White SoxCourtesy: Chicago White SoxThe team released images of the design of th...

Reports: Vikings plan to release star running back Dalvin Cook

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:39 GMT

It appears the Vikings are finally moving on from star running back Dalvin Cook.After navigating the awkward situation over the past couple of months, according to multiple reports, the Vikings have informed Cook that they plan to release him. An official announcement expected to come on Friday, and until then, the Vikings can still try to trade Cook to any team willing to offer something for his services.According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the Miami Dolphins and Denver Brooks are teams expected to have interest in Cook. If the Vikings are able to trade Cook, they will save $11 million in cap space. If they release him, they will save $9 million in cap space.This is an anticlimactic end for Cook, who emerged as a face of the franchise for the Vikings, and finished his tenure as the third all-time leading rusher in franchise history. In the pantheon of talented ball carriers to come through Minnesota over the years, Cook (5,993) trails only future hall of famer Adrian Peterson (...