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Former Florida lawmaker who sponsored ‘Don’t Say Gay’ sentenced to prison for COVID-19 relief fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The former Florida lawmaker who sponsored the controversial law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” was sentenced to six months in federal prison Thursday for defrauding a federal coronavirus relief loan program for small businesses.Former state Rep. Joe Harding, a 36-year-old Republican, resigned in December after being charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $150,000 from the Small Business Administration in pandemic aid loans. He pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud.“The theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Coody in a news release. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale.”According to court documents, Harding made false statements to the Small Business Administration while applying for an Economic Injury Disast...

Man facing charges after woman sexually assaulted on bus in Vaughan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

A 28-year-old man is under arrest following a sexual assault investigation and police in York region suspect there may be other victims.Police say around 4 p.m. on Oct. 18 a woman was on a York region bus in the area of Jane Street and Rutherford Road when a man sat down beside her and allegedly touched her in a sexual manner.The woman notified the bus driver and police were called. The man was later located at a bus terminal on Bass Pro Drive, where he was arrested.Kevin Ogbogu of no fixed address has been charged with sexual assault and breach of probation.Police have released his photo because investigators believe there may have been at least one other interaction with another victim who has yet to come forward and report the incident to police.

EU discusses Bulgaria’s gas transit tax that has angered Hungary and Serbia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The European Commission said Friday it is discussing with Bulgaria its introduction of a fee on Russian gas transits, a measure that has angered EU co-member Hungary as well as Serbia — both recipients of Russian gas. Bulgaria last week introduced the new energy tax on Russian natural gas transfers through its territory. It believes the tax will reduce the privileged position of Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom in southeastern Europe and deter Russian influence in the region in general.“We are assessing and discussing with the Bulgarian authorities this recently enacted measure,” EC spokesperson Olof Gill said in Brussels on Friday. “I can add that the EU sanctions policy towards Russia is designed, reviewed and adopted at EU level as has been the case since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” he said.Russian officials have not commented on the new Bulgarian gas fee.Bulgaria was cut off from Gazprom shipments soon after the Russian ...

There isn’t much Cher hasn’t done in her career. A Christmas album is new territory, though

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There isn’t much Cher hasn’t done in her career. She’s achieved EGOT status, she’s the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades — heck, she’s got her own gelato business, Cherlato. But a Christmas album? That’s new territory. So, why now?“I just didn’t want to do one,” she told The Associated Press. “I didn’t know how I was going to make it a ‘Cher Christmas album.’”The secret, of course, was to lean into the incredible eclecticism of her career, all while avoiding the sleepy, saccharine pitfalls of a “Silent Night” -heavy holiday release.Her first new album in five years, the appropriately titled “Christmas,” releases Friday. In some ways, it required Cher to find her voice again. She hadn’t sang since a March 12, 2020, performance in Oklahoma City was canceled when a Utah Jazz basketball player tested positive for the coronavirus. So she called up her vocal teacher, “Adrienne Angel, wh...

Guns, drugs seized as Hamilton police arrest over 1,000 outstanding suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

Hamilton police say they’ve arrested over 1,000 outstanding suspects during an 18-month investigation that also netted a substantial amount of drugs and weapons.Police began Project KORA (Keeping Offenders Responsible and Accountable) in April 2022.“This effort has resulted in a significant number of arrests, the seizure of various weapons, including firearms, the recovery of stolen property, and illicit drugs,” police said in a release Friday.“These arrests encompassed individuals wanted for property and victim-related offenses, as well as weapon offenses and violations of previous judicial releases.”The arrests also led to 295 new charges.During the course of the investigation, police said they seized 375 grams of fentanyl, 5.5 grams of meth, 30 grams of cocaine, and illegal oxycodone pills. Weapons, including five handguns, and nearly $5,000 in cash, were also seized.“The primary objective of this project was to hold individuals committing offe...

Jordan falls short of Speakership on third ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

Twenty-five Republicans blocked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) from winning the Speakership on Friday, marking the third time this week that the Judiciary Committee chairman has fallen short of clinching the gavel.Jordan received 194 votes, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) won 210 votes. Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) got six votes, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got two votes and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) got eight votes. Nine Republicans voted for someone else.The Republican opposition to Jordan on Friday was more than he had seen on the first and second ballots, a sign that his support in the conference is waning. Three Republicans flipped their votes to oppose him: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Tom Kean (R-N.J.) and Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.).But in the lead-up to the vote, the fast-talking founding chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus gave no indication that he plans to withdraw his name from the race.It remains uncl...

Suburban man hosting his own birthday party allegedly killed partygoer over stolen shoes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. — A suburban man hosting his own birthday party allegedly shot another man to death over stolen shoes.On Saturday, authorities responded to the area of Route 83 and Third Avenue, in Bensenville, on the report of a man needing assistance.Responding officers said they learned of a murder that had occurred earlier in the day on Church Road in unincorporated Bensenville.Police launched an investigation and determined that Kevin Krenc, 31, was hosting a birthday party for himself at his residence on Church Road. Several other people were there, including Victor Garcia, of Des Plaines.At some point during the party, police said tensions rose over allegations that Garcia stole a pair of shoes at the party. Detectives believe Garcia felt "disrespected" over the allegations and entered the garage of the residence.When he entered the garage, police allege Krenc pulled out a rifle, which was hidden, and shot Garcia five times — killing him.Police believe after the shooting ...

Jordan loses third Speaker vote: Live coverage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

GOP Speaker nominee Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) once again fell short of the Speakership Friday in a third vote, continuing the two-week-long stalemate that has plunged the chamber into chaos.Jordan bled more Republican support in the latest attempt, losing 25 GOP votes compared to 20 and 22 on the first and second ballots, respectively.“Our plan this weekend is to get a Speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people," Jordan said earlier Friday when asked what his plan is for the weekend.The Ohio Republican scrapped plans to hold a third vote on his bid Thursday after opponents came out of a meeting saying they would maintain their resistance to him and at least two lawmakers who voted for him previously said they would switch their votes.The Republican conference on Thursday also swatted down a proposal to temporarily empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), which was viewed by many as a last-ditch way to resume business...

APD identifies victim in Saturday homicide investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, the Austin Police Department identified the victim in a Saturday homicide that occurred in southeast Austin.Austin police said 50-year-old Feliciano Alvarado-Lajuj died after being taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. PAST COVERAGE: 1 person dead in southeast Austin homicide, according to police According to APD, on Saturday at approximately 2:20 a.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 1700 block of Burton Drive, and Alvarado-Lajuj was found at the scene.APD said homicide detectives and crime scene specialists later arrived. According to APD, the detectives believed Alvarado-Lajuj was shot in the parking lot by a suspect who left the area.According to police, this case was being investigated as Austin's 53rd homicide of 2023. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? Austin Police asked that anyone with any information or video regarding this incident to contact APD's Homicide unit at 512-974-TIPS.Tips can be submitted anonymousl...

High school football: Check out the Class 6A, 32-team state playoff bracket

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:50 GMT

Class 6A football’s March Madness-style, 32-team bracket dropped Friday morning, setting the stage for next week’s first round of playoffs for Minnesota’s largest high schools.Lakeville South, Centennial, Stillwater and Eden Prairie received the No. 1 seeds, as expected.Teams are seeded by section, and then the seeds are scrambled into four separate quadrants of a full-on, single-elimination bracket. So a No. 4 seed from one section plays a No. 5 seed from another section, and so on. No teams from within the same section meet in the first round.The Cougars nabbed the top spot in their section by virtue of a mid-September victory over rival Lakeville North. At first glance, that victory carries a lot of weight. As Lakeville South ended up on the opposite side of the bracket as Lakeville North, top-ranked Eden Prairie and defending state champion Maple Grove, and wouldn’t play any of those teams until a potential state championship game.Lakeville North, meanwhi...