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Man sentenced to probation for threats made to Indiana congressman

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man accused of intimidating and harassing GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and his family earlier this year was sentenced to probation Friday, according to court records. Aaron L. Thompson, of Fort Wayne, was charged with felony intimidation with the threat to commit a forcible felony and misdemeanor harassment by means of a telephone call. He was sentenced to nearly three years of probation by an Allen County judge after entering a plea deal, records show. Thompson’s attorney, Bart Arnold, told The Associated Press, “He is very sorry for what happened and is grateful for the grace shown to him by the the Banks family.” According to a report by television station WPTA, Thompson was accused of calling Banks’s office in April and leaving threatening messages toward the congressman and his family. Thompson told police he was intoxicated and disagreed with Banks’ political views, according to the report. “Here’s the choice. Your daughters grow up ...

Man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl from New York park is charged with rape

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (AP) — A man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl from a state park in upstate New York raped the child during the two days she was held hostage before her rescue, prosecutors said Friday.Craig N. Ross Jr. was initially charged only with first-degree kidnapping in the abduction of the girl on Sept. 30 from Moreau Lake State Park, located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Albany. A massive search in the rural area ended two days later when state police troopers and FBI SWAT team stormed a camper Ross was staying in. Rescuers found the girl in a cabinet.The break in the case had come after officers stationed at the girl’s home saw someone drop a ransom note in the family’s mailbox before dawn. State police matched fingerprints on the note to Ross, who was in a database because of a 1999 drunken driving case.An indictment made public Friday kept the kidnapping charge and added four counts of predatory sexual...

US wildlife managers have no immediate plans to capture wandering Mexican gray wolf

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s been a long journey for one lone Mexican gray wolf — from the forests of southeastern Arizona, across the dusty high desert of central New Mexico to the edge of what is known as the Yellowstone of the Southwest. Her paws have seen hundreds of miles now over the last five months. Having reached Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico, she has wandered far beyond the boundaries established along the Arizona-New Mexico border for managing the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. The recovery area — spanning tens of thousands of square miles — is home to more than 240 of the endangered predators.Federal wildlife managers have confirmed to The Associated Press they have no immediate plans for capturing the lone female wolf nicknamed Asha. But they will continue tracking her movements. Known to biologists by her formal name of F2754, the wolf is outfitted with a GPS collar. Data collected since her release in June in the Apache Nat...

The No Labels party asked its supporters if they would pay $100 to help choose its 2024 nominee

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — No Labels, a political organization that has alarmed some Democrats with talk of launching a third-party presidential candidate, has contemplated requiring a donation of at least $100 in order to cast a ballot at the group’s upcoming nominating convention, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The idea, which breaks from longstanding norms, would raise a significant hurdle to participating in the democratic process — in this case No Labels’ selection of its potential candidates for president and vice president. Neither the Democratic or Republican parties charge to vote at their conventions, where delegates vote for candidates chosen by voters through primaries or caucuses.The possibility of requiring a donation was included in an internal survey No Labels conducted in September. Screenshots of the survey were provided to the AP by a person who was invited to take it. The survey explored how No Labels should select candidates to run on a bipar...

Convicted sex offender found guilty of hacking jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A convicted child molester was found guilty Friday of hacking the jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium after the team learned he was a registered sex offender and fired him.The federal jury found 53-year-old Samuel Arthur Thompson, of St. Augustine, guilty of producing, receiving and possessing sexual images of children, producing such images while required to register as a sex offender, violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, sending unauthorized damaging commands to a protected computer and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to court records.Thompson faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years in prison when he’s sentenced March 25.Thompson was arrested in early 2020 after being deported by the Philippines back to the U.S., officials said. He had fled to the Southeast Asia country about six months earlier, after the FBI executed a search warrant at his home a seized several of his computers, according to a ...

Mississippi’s capital city is considering a unique plan to slash water rates for poor people

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The manager of the long-troubled water system in Mississippi’s capital city proposed a slight rate increase for most residents Friday alongside what he said is a first-in-the-nation proposal to reduce water rates for low-income people who get government help with grocery bills. The proposal from Ted Henifin, the third-party manager of Jackson’s water and sewer systems, is the culmination of a monthslong effort to increase revenue collections in a city where roughly a quarter of the population lives in poverty. If enacted, it would be the latest in a series of changes after infrastructure breakdowns in 2022 caused many Jackson residents to go days and weeks without safe running water. “We think this is a great opportunity to really change the dialogue around water and sewer in the city of Jackson,” Henifin said at a news conference. Henifin said about 5,000 properties in the Jackson area use water without paying, adding to the financial strain on a s...

Ohio Catholic priest gets life sentence for sex-trafficking convictions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest received a life sentence Friday for his convictions on five counts related to sex-trafficking charges in the molestation of three boys who prosecutors say he met at an Ohio preschool and coerced to continue sexual activity as adults.Rev. Michael Zacharias, 56, received concurrent life sentences for counts of sex trafficking a minor and sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion. He received concurrent 20-year sentences for two counts of sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud, or coercion and one of similarly trafficking a minor.Prosecutors have said Zacharias “paid the victims to engage in sex acts with him using the victims’ fear of serious harm to compel their compliance.” They also said the three victims were developing serious drug addictions and the priest “waited to propose commercial sex” until they were heavily involved in drug abuse.Zacharias has maintained his innocence, saying none of the sexual contact occurre...

Nylander, Bertuzzi shine in Sweden as Maple Leafs beat Red Wings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

William Nylander continued his impressive and torrid stretch to the season with a goal and three points as the Toronto Maple Leafs erased a two-goal deficit to come back and beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in their opening game in Sweden.All three Maple Leafs goals came in the third period. Nylander’s assist on Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal cut the Red Wings’ lead to 2- 1, extending his point streak to 16 straight games. Nylander then evened the game with his 11th goal of the season and, for good measure, added his third point by assisting on John Tavares’ go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.Toronto’s second line dominated the game on Friday. Tavares finished with a goal and two assists, while Bertuzzi added two points and a season-high seven shots on goal. Mitch Marner was the only other Leaf with a point, an assist. Nylander now has 25 points across 16 games this season and is fourth in the NHL in points behind Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Mille...

Rio’s iconic Christ statue welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms thanks to Swifties and a priest

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Welcome to Brazil, Taylor Swift, it’s been waiting for you.As her sweep of Rio de Janeiro shows got underway this week, the pop superstar and her legions of devoted fans were greeted by the wide-open arms of the world’s most-famous Christ statue, sporting a projected image of a Swift-inspired T-shirt.The 125-foot Christ the Redeemer was illuminated Thursday night with a towering message welcoming the singer to the country for the latest leg of her Eras Tour. The grand show of hospitality was thanks to a charitable act by her fans and orchestrated by the Christ the Redeemer Archdiocesan Sanctuary, which manages the iconic statue.On social media, Swifties asked Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes to project onto the statue a likeness of the “Junior Jewels” shirt from Swift’s “You Belong with Me” music video. Their plea went viral. Paes, who once called the singer the “Madonna of our times,” said he’d take the matter to the Rev. Omar Raposo, the rector ...

WhatsApp enters sports in deal with F1 team Mercedes. Channels feature to offer exclusive content

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:34 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — WhatsApp has chosen the Mercedes Formula One team for its first sports sponsorship, a multi-year agreement that will give followers of the eight-time world champion exclusive team content and in-race updates through the Meta-owned private messaging service. The deal announced Friday is the first of its kind for WhatsApp, which connects over two billion people globally and is heavily used outside of the United States. While Americans tend to use iMessage through their Apple phones, WhatsApp is utilized most everywhere else and had become the main tool of communication for the Mercedes team.Team principal Toto Wolff told The Associated Press it is not unheard of for him to receive messages in WhatsApp group chats from Mercedes board members questioning strategy during races. “I’m trying to turn the phone upside down so I’m not seeing the board members texting me, ‘What the hell is the strategy department thinking?’” Wolff told AP. “It’s quite fun. So...