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Mexico’s search for people falsely listed as missing finds some alive, rampant poor record-keeping

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government announced Thursday that its controversial effort to look for people falsely listed as missing has turned up 16,681 individuals who had returned to their homes but not notified the authorities. The nationwide effort was widely viewed as an attempt by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to pare down the country’s politically embarrassing total of 113,000 ‘disappeared’ people, a number that has skyrocketed under his administration.Instead of looking for the clandestine graves and crematoriums that dot the country, the government sent about 5,000 police and other officials to perform more than 111,000 visits to homes to look for people who might have shown up on tax roles, hospital or bank records. Another 17,843 people who appeared to have used a credit card, gotten a vaccine or applied for government benefits while listed as disappeared could not be located. The government set up a hotline urging people to call in information on them, in wh...

US Rep. Drew Ferguson, a Georgia Republican, says he won’t seek reelection in 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson said Thursday he won’t seek reelection to his Georgia seat in 2024.“Julie and I look forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren while continuing to work to keep Georgia the best state in America to live and do business,” Ferguson said in a statement.He said he plans to serve the remainder of his fourth term representing western Georgia’s 3rd District, which expires at the end of next year.The announcement comes two months after Ferguson said his family had received death threats amid the inner turmoil Republicans faced in electing a new House speaker following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California.The threats came after Ferguson publicly withdrew his support for GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a favorite of hard-right conservatives. Ferguson said he refused to support “a bully” for speaker and that the threats were “unacceptable, unforgivable, and will never be tolerated.”A former mayor of W...

Black people in Toronto disproportionately stopped and searched by police: Human rights commission

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

A new report by the Ontario Human Rights Commission has found Black people in Toronto are disproportionately stopped and searched by police despite the Ontario government’s efforts to regulate so-called “street checks.”The commission’s final report on anti-Black racism within the Toronto Police Service, released today, says that while official street checks appear to have been effectively eliminated, Black people still report being stopped and searched at a much higher rate than people from other racial groups.It points to, among other things, a survey conducted in 2019 — two years after the provincial regulation banning official street checks took effect — that found 40.4 per cent of Black respondents reported being stopped by police at least once in the previous two years, compared with 24.7 per cent of white respondents and 24.9 per cent of Asian respondents.The report says part of the problem is the existence of “significant gaps” ...

Fergus should stay as Speaker, pay a fine for controversial video: committee

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee says Greg Fergus should stay in his job as Speaker, but he should apologize again and reimburse Parliament for using its resources to make a video that was shown at a partisan event. In a report released this morning, the procedure and House affairs committee also says there should be clear guidelines for future Speakers about the impartiality of their role.The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have called for Fergus to resign over a video in tribute to the outgoing interim leader of the Ontario Liberals, and renewed those calls today.Fergus shot the video in his office while wearing his ceremonial robes, and it was played at the provincial party’s recent leadership convention, though the Speaker says he didn’t know it would be used that way. The committee’s report does not say how much Fergus should pay to reimburse Parliament. All members of Parliament are expected to vote on the report later today. This report by The Canadian...

Man acquitted of killing three in Minnesota is convicted in unrelated kidnapping, shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man acquitted of killing three people in a 2022 shooting could be heading to prison anyway after being found guilty of kidnapping and shooting a man in St. Paul.Jurors on Tuesday convicted Antonio Wright after about four hours of deliberation, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. Wright, 42, of Minneapolis, faces sentencing Jan. 29.The 37-year-old victim was found by police on the front porch of a home with four gunshot wounds on Sept. 2, 2022. Prosecutors said Wright shot the man out of fear that he was going to talk to police after hearing Wright discuss a 2017 killing.A message left Thursday with Wright’s lawyer wasn’t immediately returned.Two days after the shooting on Sept. 2, 2022, five people were shot in St. Paul. Three of the victims died. Prosecutors charged Wright with second-degree murder and attempted murder.Wright, who had eight prior felony convictions, was arrested Sept. 7, 2022, in Chicago, and charged in connection wit...

Alice in Wonderland stage play from Chicago fuses circus elements for new PBS broadcast

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The first indication that you’re not seeing a run-of-the-mill stage production of Alice in Wonderland is when the White Rabbit appears suspended 30 feet over the stage and does a somersault through a hoop.So begins one of the most innovative and thrilling retellings of Lewis Carroll’s legacy, this time infused with the physicality of circus. The characters soar on ropes, make tumble passes, balance on each other, throw teacakes, dance to salsa and play musical instruments.“It’s a beautiful combination,” says Molly Hernández, who plays Alice. “Wonderland is so fantastical, as is circus. And it’s honest and raw and silly and all of the human things that we sometimes hide from — the childish wonder within ourselves, the fear of making mistakes.”The show “Lookingglass Alice” from the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago has been a local treat for decades, but this year gets national attention with a broadcast on PBS starting on Friday.“Lookingglass has alw...

Lotto 6/49 $68M winner not planning to quit his job anytime soon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

A Toronto man who came to Canada with one suitcase and a few dollars in his pocket is now a multimillionaire.More than two months after the record-breaking Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot was won, Noel Patricio came forward during his birthday week to claim the $68 million prize.“I was at work and I saw on TV somebody won in Toronto,” Patricio recalled. “My ticket is in my pocket and I checked and it says $68,000. Then I call my sister and I say ‘I win Lotto, $68,000.’ She asked me ‘How many zeros?’ and I said ‘Six zeros.'”“‘No, that’s $68 million!'”“I was surprised, shocked, nervous,” said Patricio. “All I could think was, is this a joke? Is this real? Will I wake up from this dream?”In the days that followed, Patricio recalls listening to his colleagues at work talk about who might have won the multi-million dollar prize but he remained silent.“I wanted to say ‘It’s me!’ But I ...

Former British soldier to stand trial over Bloody Sunday killings half a century ago

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier will stand trial in the killing of two civil rights protesters half a century ago on Bloody Sunday, one of the deadliest days of the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland, a judge said Thursday.The former paratrooper is charged with murder in the killings of James Wray and William McKinney and with attempted murder involving five other people in Derry, also known as Londonderry, on Jan.30, 1972. That was when members of Britain’s Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters in the city. An initial investigation that took place soon after the slayings branded the demonstrators as Irish Republican Army bombers and gunmen. But an exhaustive inquiry that lasted 12 years refuted those findings, concluding in 2010 that British soldiers had opened fire without justification at unarmed, fleeing civilians and then lied about it for decades. A judge said during a hearing in Londonderry on Thursday that the ex-paratrooper, who is only...

Woman fatally shot by man who broke into home in Joliet

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A 40-year-old woman was shot and killed after a man broke into her home in Joliet.According to police, officers reponded to a house in the 1100 block of Westshire Drive around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, after a 911 call was received from a woman reporting that a man forcefully attempted to enter her home.Upon arrival, officers noticed that a large window in front of the residence was broken. A 47-year-old man was seen inside the residence and officers' ordered him to exit the residence through the front door, and he was held at the scene.Police said when officers entered the home they located an unresponsive 40-year-old woman in the bathroom who appeared to have been shot multiple times. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identity has not yet been released. 32-year-old man dead in Aurora double shooting After further investigation, the man was identified as a suspect in the shooting. Police believe he forcefully entered the residence through the fr...

Impeachment prosecutors bill $3.7M for Paxton trial

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:20:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Outside attorneys hired by the Texas House to prosecute Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment billed over $3.7 million for their legal services and expenses, according to records obtained by KXAN through the Texas Public Information Act.The top-flight legal counsel hired by the state includes Dick DeGuerin, Rusty Hardin and Harriet O’Neill.House Business Office records showed Rusty Hardin and Associates worked the most hours, billing over $3 million, including $2.7 million in legal fees and about $340,00 in expenses.According to state billing records, the DeGuerin & Dickson firm billed over $470,000 total, and the Law Office of Harriet O’Neill invoiced just over $193,000. DeGuerin and Hardin did not immediately return requests for comment.The impeachment case created a political firestorm at the state Capitol. Within days of Paxton’s acquittal on all articles in September, Patrick ordered the State Auditor’s Office to conduct a special audit of the total cos...