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US seeks dismissal of corruption charges against Florida 2018 Democratic governor nominee Gillum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Monday to dismiss the remaining corruption charges against Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor in 2018, after a jury deadlocked on all but one count following a trial earlier this month.Prosecutors had said they intended to retry Gillum after the trial concluded on May 4, but reversed course in a one-paragraph motion that also seeks dismissal of the case against his co-defendant, Sharon Lettman-Hicks.Jurors acquitted Gillum of lying to the FBI but could not reach a verdict on more than a dozen fraud and conspiracy charges contending Gillum and Lettman-Hicks diverted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for his personal use.Gillum’s defense team, led by Miami attorney David O. Markus, said in an email that he can now “resume his life and public service.”“Andrew Gillum had the courage to stand up and say ‘I am innocent.’ And that is finally being recognized. We want to thank the hard working jury who did ...

European countries succeed in yearlong push to relocate WHO Moscow office 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

It took a year, but European countries have succeeded in their push for the World Health Organization (WHO) to relocate a key office away from Moscow.A special session of the WHO’s Regional Committee for Europe on Monday, called by all EU countries except Hungary, as well as Iceland, Norway, U.K. and Ukraine, saw the countries force the WHO’s hand on the closure of the non-communicable diseases office in Moscow. The office will be relocated to Copenhagen by January 1, 2024.It marks a significant moment for the WHO, which attempts to remain politically neutral while condemning actions that harm human health. The European countries pushing for the relocation of the office argued in a letter in April that “the immediate and long-term health impacts in Ukraine and beyond, caused by Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, continue to be a matter of utmost concern.”The majority of countries present at the meeting Monday voted in favor of the resolu...

State police recover body of 4-year-old boy who went missing at Castle Island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

Authorities say the body of a 4-year-old boy from South Boston who was reported missing over the weekend has been found.Massachusetts State Police said the body of Mohamed Abou Fofana was found midday on the shoreline of Spectacle Island, off South Boston.“At 12:29 PM a Massachusetts State Police Marine Unit crew observed the boy’s body on the shore from their boat,” an MSP spokesperson said in a statement. “Troopers from the MSP Special Emergency Response Team and State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County were ferried to the island by the Marine Unit, and they have confirmed the body to be Mohamed. State Police Crime Scene Services also responded to document the scene of the recovery.”According to officials, the body of Mohamed will be brought to shore and transferred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, with a death investigation to be conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County.This is a developing news story; stay wit...

America’s fastest growing sport is coming to your mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

(CNN) — Pickleball is coming to your local mall, replacing shuttered Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, and Saks Off 5th stores.It may seem like a strange strategy, but the match offers benefits to both mall owners and pickleball players.Malls need new tenants to fill vacant spaces and draw customers beyond their traditional department store anchors and clothing stores.Consumers are craving fun, social experiences after years of limited gatherings during the pandemic, and they have shifted their spending from goods to experiences like theaters, arcades and amusement parks.Malls are responding to these trends by turning to a wider range of tenants and activities to draw traffic, real estate investment firm JLL said in a report this week.The new mix at malls also includes skydiving, virtual golf and breweries.Meanwhile, pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport. Backers of the game and developers are desperate to find vacant spaces to build court...

Microsoft’s bid to buy Activision Blizzard clears a key hurdle. But the $69B deal is still at risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

By KELVIN CHAN (AP Business Writer)LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Monday approved Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard, deciding the deal won’t stifle competition for popular console titles like Call of Duty and accepting the U.S. tech company’s remedies to boost competition in cloud gaming.But the blockbuster deal is still in jeopardy because British regulators have rejected it and U.S. authorities are trying to thwart it.The acquisition, sweetened by Microsoft’s promises to automatically license Activision games to cloud gaming platforms, “would no longer raise competition concerns and would ultimately unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers,” said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust watchdog.The commission’s approval “has removed one potential major roadblock for this deal” but “it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in a stronger position” to overturn the U.K.’s rejection, said Liam...

How the Knicks can be winners at the draft lottery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

The Knicks will be very interested spectators to Tuesday night’s draft lottery.Although they don’t have any of their own Ping Pong balls in the machine, the Knicks are rubbing their rabbit foot for some Mavericks bad luck.Why?There’s roughly a 20% chance that Dallas’s first-round pick falls outside of the top-10 and conveys to the Knicks this year. It’s the final payment of the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade and is top-10 protected.If the pick doesn’t convey this year, it pushes to next year and remains top-10 protected. If it’s not conveyed by 2026, it becomes two second-round picks.Karmic retribution would give it to the Knicks this year. The Mavericks, a team built to compete for a title with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in the backcourt, pulled the plug on their season with a few games remaining and a legitimate chance at the play-in tournament.They were open about the tanking strategy – with the logic that a top-10 draft pick was m...

Nathan Fletcher releases apology letter ahead of resignation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Hours ahead of his scheduled resignation from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher released an apology letter to his constituents and supporters.Fletcher's resignation from the District 4 seat will be effective at 5 p.m. Monday.On Mar. 29, 2023, Fletcher announced that he would be resigning from his position hours after allegations surfaced in a lawsuit filing accusing the supervisor of sexual misconduct towards a former Metropolitan Transit System employee. Timeline: Unfolding of the Nathan Fletcher scandal Days before announcing his resignation, Fletcher dropped his bid for the California State Senate 39th district seat and said that he was going on medical leave for treatment of post-traumatic stress and alcohol abuse.In the letter, Fletcher continued to deny the allegations against him, but claims he did engage in "consensual interactions" outside of his marriage. Former MTS employee allegedly assaulted by Nathan Fletcher speaks out He also...

Stevie Nicks announces San Diego stop on 2023 tour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks has announced thirteen additional performances for her Live In Concert tour, including a stop in San Diego.The Fleetwood Mac star will be performing at Viejas Arena on Wed, Nov. 29.Tickets for the newly-added shows, including San Diego will be available for purchase on May 19 at 10 a.m. through Live Nation. Live National Presale tickets will be available at 10 a.m. on May 18.You can purchase tickets here. Danny Elfman bringing career-encapsulating show to San Diego Nicks, a legendary singer and songwriter, has seen great success as both a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, garnering over a dozen Grammy Award nominations individually and with the band.She has sung a number of classic hits such as "Dreams," "Edge of Seventeen," "Landslide" and "Rhiannon."Nicks will be joined by country music singer Ingrid Andress for the San Diego show, according to the Viejas Arena website.The second leg of the Live In Concert tour wil...

Kehinde Wiley is taking his art everywhere. But he’s still thinking about what’s next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Kehinde Wiley was already well into his influential art career when his portrait of Barack Obama — arms crossed, perched on a chair amid brilliant foliage — was unveiled in 2018. But there’s no doubt it changed the artist’s life.Here’s one way he describes the shift: Now, should he ever show up at the bank and realize he’s forgotten his ID — which hasn’t happened yet, but still — he could say: “You know that portrait of Obama? I’m that guy, and I didn’t bring my ID, so if you could just Google that…”But Wiley, proud as he is of the groundbreaking work — an official portrait of a Black president by a Black artist — does wonder how long he’ll be referred to in that context.“I wonder if I will ever be able to do anything that lives up to the gravity of that moment,” he says. “Everybody wants to be seen in a number of different contexts … but I mean, what a great project to be involved in. So, come on, here’s the world’s smallest violin, playing just fo...

Cartier uses images of Amazon tribe devastated by illegal gold mining. Critics call that hypocrisy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:42 GMT

BOA VISTA, Brazil (AP) — Until two months ago, Cartier’s website showed Yanomami children playing in a green field.The French luxury jewelry brand said it was working to promote the culture of the Indigenous people and protect the rainforest where they live, in a vast territory straddling Brazil and Venezuela. But the project that the site described protecting the Amazon never took place. And Cartier published the photo without the approval of Yanomami leadership, violating the beliefs of a people who had been living in almost total isolation until they were contacted by outsiders in the 1970s.Some of the Yanomami and their defenders praise Cartier’s promotion of Yanomami causes. However, advertising by one of the world’s biggest jewelers with images of an Indigenous people devastated by illegal gold mining has some complaining of greenwashing, a corporation promoting its own image by supporting a cause.“How can a gold jewelry company, which we, the Yanomami people, are against, use...