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Ohtani decision ‘imminent,’ could be as early as today: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

A decision by free agent Shohei Ohtani as to which club he is going to sign with is “imminent” and could come as early as Friday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported Friday.Ohtani, considered a generational star and by far the top player available in Major League Baseball’s free agency pool, is reportedly deciding between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, although other teams could also still be in the mix.Source: Shohei Ohtani’s decision is imminent, possibly as early as today. @MLBNetwork @MLB— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 8, 2023An accomplished pitcher and hitter, Ohtani’s signing is likely to set a record for the biggest contract in baseball history.Ohtani, the biggest free agent in MLB history, is coming off a season that saw him hit .304 while blasting 44 home runs in just 135 games. The two-way star also posted a 3.14 ERA over 132 innings while racking up 176 strikeouts.The 29-year-old had his 2023 season cut short after under...

Two Ontario men face neo-Nazi-linked terror, hate propaganda charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

RCMP says two Ontario men have been arrested for allegedly helping to make videos and manifestos in support of the neo-Nazi terror movement and far-right extremism. Police say the men allegedly participated in making recruiting videos for Atomwaffen Division, an international neo-Nazi terror group, and “manifestos” on a group of messaging channels known to circulate neo-fascist ideology and manuals on how to carry out racially-motivated violence. RCMP say they executed search warrants in Niagara and Toronto as part of the 18-month investigation. One man is facing several charges, including three counts of making hate propaganda for a terrorist group, while the other man faces one charge of participating in the activities of a terrorist group.It comes after RCMP laid the first ever terrorism and hate propaganda charges in Canada against a 26-year-old Ottawa man in July for allegedly making videos for the Atomwaffen Division.RCMP say the two men are next set to a...

Feds recover $40M from defunct Quebec vaccine developer Medicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government says it has recovered $40 million from the now-defunct Quebec-based vaccine developer Medicago, and the intellectual property will remain in Canada under a new firm. The government provided Medicago a $173-million advance in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to develop and produce a plant-based vaccine in Quebec City.The company’s Japanese parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, shut down Medicago’s operations in February as global demand for vaccinations plummeted. Though Medicago’s vaccine was approved for use in Canada, it was not approved by the World Health Organization due to the company’s ties with tobacco giant Philip Morris.The agreement between Canada and Mitsubishi Chemical Group will transfer the research, intellectual property and equipment to a new operation: Aramis Biotechnologies.Aramis Biotechnologies is also based in Quebec City and is led by former Medicago employees.This report by The Canadian Press...

New York can enforce laws banning guns from ‘sensitive locations’ for now, U.S. appeals court rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York can continue to enforce laws banning firearms in sensitive locations and require that handgun owners be of “good moral character,” a federal appeals court ruled Friday in its first broad review of a host of new gun rules passed in the state after a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.But in a 261-page decision, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of appeals also blocked some aspects of New York’s new gun licensing rules, including a requirement that applicants turn over a list of their social media accounts.The court also said the state can’t enforce part of the law that made it a crime to carry a concealed gun onto private property without the express consent of the owner — a restriction that would have kept guns out of places like shops, supermarkets and restaurants unless the proprietor put a sign up saying guns were welcome.The ruling by the appeals court was at an early stage of a legal battle seen as eventually likely to w...

Massachusetts attorney general files civil rights lawsuit against white nationalist group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ attorney general has filed a lawsuit accusing a white nationalist group of civil rights violations, saying it repeatedly subjected LGBTQ+ events and facilities sheltering migrant families to intimidation and harassment.The complaint filed Thursday against NSC-131 and two of its leaders, Christopher Hood of Newburyport and Liam McNeil of Waltham, accuses the group of engaging “in violent, threatening, and intimidating conduct that violated state civil rights laws and unlawfully interfered with public safety.” “NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with their rights. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable for their unlawful actions against members of our community,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement.According to the complaint, the group repeatedly targeted drag story hours around the state between July 2022 an...

Critics pan planned $450M Nebraska football stadium renovation as academic programs face cuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska is planning a $450 million renovation of the Cornhuskers’ football stadium in Lincoln and at the same time looking to cut millions of dollars from the university system, leading critics to question whether officials care more about athletics than academics.Faculty at Nebraska and nationally acknowledge the importance of athletics at a Big Ten university but said the divergent funding plans send a message that teaching and research take a back seat to Nebraska’s football program.“If an institution is putting zillions into athletics at the same time they are proposing cuts to academic programs and faculty, they have their priorities all wrong,” said Irene Mulvey, president of the college faculty advocacy group American Association of University Professors.Mulvey, a mathematics professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, said it’s incumbent on university and state leaders to promote a university’s core academic missi...

Missouri lawmakers propose allowing homicide charges for women who have abortions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Missouri lawmakers are renewing a call for the state to take an anti-abortion step that goes further than prominent anti-abortion groups want to go and that has not gained much traction in any state so far: a law that would allow homicide charges against women who obtain abortions.Republicans in both the state House and Senate have introduced bills to be considered in the legislative session that begins next month to apply homicide laws on behalf of a victim who is an “unborn child at every stage of development.”The bills would offer exceptions if the suspect is a woman who aborts a pregnancy after being coerced or threatened, or an abortion is provided by a physician to save the life of the pregnant woman.“To me, it’s just about protecting a baby’s life like we do every other person’s life,” state Rep. Bob Titus, a first-term Republican who is sponsoring one of the measures, told The Associated Press. “The prosecution is just a consequence of taking ...

Former California police chief sentenced to 11 years in prison for role in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol: 'Encouraged the rioters'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

(KTLA) – A Texas man who previously served as the chief of the La Habra Police Department in California has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.Alan Hostetter, 59, who most recently lived in Poolville, Texas, was sentenced to 135 months in prison on Thursday following a previous conviction of four felonies earlier this year.Hostetter, who opted to represent himself in his trial, was convicted of charges including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon. The most frequently banned book in prison is about ramen The United States Department of Justice said Hostetter brought tactical gear, pepper spray and hatchets to the Capitol when he and other supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.Hostetter was retired from law enforcement and working as a yoga instructor when he planned...

Ed Burke trial: Co-defendants in spotlight as Burger King evidence wraps up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors in the Ed Burke trial are wrapping up presentations of evidence in the alleged Burger King "shakedown" scheme.Burke's co-defendants, longtime aide Peter Andrews and Charles Cui, are in the spotlight Friday at the Dirksen Federal Building.Defense attorneys have been grilling a former FBI agent about the interview of Andrews. Later, prosecutors will shift their focus to allegations that Cui, a Portage Park businessman, tried to bribe Burke, hoping the former alderman would secure a permit for a large sign at a liquor store.That is the fourth and final alleged scheme prosecutors are outlining in the case.Cui, 52, is charged with one count of bribery and one count of making false statements to the FBI, among other charges.Cui, an immigration attorney, purchased a strip mall on Irving Park Road on the Northwest Side. Binny's Beverage Depot, as part of its lease agreement, was supposed to be able to use a large pole sign, but sign the sign hadn't been used in...

City breaks ground on Spicewood Springs Road expansion project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin broke ground Friday on the Spicewood Springs Mobility Project, marking the beginning of work to expand a section of the road to four lanes.Capital Delivery Services and Austin Transportation and Public Works will begin construction to expand Spicewood Springs Road from two to four lanes between Loop 360 and Mesa Drive this month, according to a release. That section of the road is approximately a 2-mile stretch. Spicewood Springs Road to Expand to Four Lanes from Mesa Dr. to Loop 360 (Photo courtesy: City of Austin Capital Delivery Services)Groundbreaking celebration for Spicewood Springs Road expansion (KXAN Photo/Tim Holcomb) Spicewood Springs Road to Expand to Four Lanes from Mesa Dr. to Loop 360 (KXAN Photo/Tim Holcomb) Spicewood Springs Road to Expand to Four Lanes from Mesa Dr. to Loop 360 (KXAN Photo/Tim Holcomb) The project has been in the works for several years. It's being funded by the 2016 mobility bond and is expected ...