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Armenia and Azerbaijan announce deal to exchange POWs and work toward peace treaty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Thursday to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region.The two countries said in a joint statement they “share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace.” They said they intend “to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.Until Thursday’s announcement, the two countries had bitterly argued on the outline of a peace process amid mutual distrust.As part of the deal, Armenia agree...

Paris 2024 chief pledges to find solutions to keep Olympic surfing in Tahiti after coral damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

The Paris 2024 organizing committee president said Thursday he still wants the surfing competition at next year’s Olympics to take place in Tahiti despite the controversy surrounding the construction of the judging tower at the site, where coral has been damaged.Speaking to local media Polynesie La Premiere, Tony Estanguet said he’s going to pour “all (his) energy” to keep the surfing in French Polynesia at the Tahiti site of Teahupo’o.Because Teahupo’o’s surf breaks offshore, the Olympic judges have to be out in the lagoon. Organizers intend to install them and television cameras on an aluminum tower that will be attached to the reef.That plan has sparked protests in Tahiti, with critics fearing for coral and other marine life. That criticism reached another level last week after coral was damaged when organizers tried to test out a barge used to build the tower in the surfing lagoon, leading local authorities to halt the construction.“We need to find a solution to respect environm...

Rebels in Congo take key outpost in the east as peacekeepers withdraw and fighting intensifies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Armed rebels seized a town in eastern Congo on Thursday after violently clashing with the army, which has taken on an expanded role as peacekeeping forces withdraw from the mineral-rich, conflict-stricken region.Military officials and residents of Mushaki told The Associated Press that M23 militants had penetrated the town and occupied key military outposts, leading many to flee.“The fighting is still going on,” Sabimana Alexis, a resident, told AP. “The inhabitants are moving en masse.”M23 is a large and powerful rebel group that operates near Congo’s border with Rwanda, a mineral-rich region where armed groups have long waged campaigns of violence and been accused of mass killings. The group allegedly has support from neighboring Rwanda, though the country denies ties.Mushaki is a pivotal transport hub that paves the way to larger cities in east Congo’s Kivu region. It has traded hands between rebels and the army throughout the conflict and as recently as Februa...

Texas deputies confronted but didn’t arrest fatal shooting suspect in August, a month before new law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of killing six people in a shooting rampage through two major Texas cities was confronted by sheriff’s deputies in August during a mental health crisis and could have been arrested on a violation for cutting off an ankle monitor.Instead, deputies left Shane James Jr. — who was naked and yelling obscenities at deputies while barricaded behind a bedroom door — with his family.Had the encounter happened just a month later when a new state law made cutting off an ankle monitor a state jail felony, deputies could have pulled James out of the room and arrested him. James, 34, is now charged with two counts of capital murder after authorities said he left a trail of violence from his parents’ home in the San Antonio area to Austin on Tuesday. Authorities said James killed his parents, Phyllis and Shane James Sr., before driving about 80 miles (129 kilometers) to Austin, killing four more people, and wounding three others, including two Austin poli...

A Jan. 6 rioter praised Vivek Ramaswamy at his sentencing for suggesting riot was an ‘inside job’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former California police chief convicted of a conspiracy charge in the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in prison after giving a speech that praised Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s suggestion the Jan. 6, 2021, attack could have been an “inside job.” Alan Hostetter, who prosecutors say carried a hatchet in his backpack on Jan. 6, spun conspiracy theories as he spoke to a judge at his sentencing hearing, falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and referring to the riot as a “false flag” operation. Only eight other Jan. 6 defendants have received a longer term so far. His is the third-longest Jan. 6 sentence among those who were not charged with seditious conspiracy. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur running his first political campaign, has drawn attention in the GOP field with his rapid-fire, wide-ranging speeches in which he often discusses things he says are “t...

B.C. housing plans could deliver 293,000 new units over next decade, says premier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

VANCOUVER — Premier David Eby says the New Democrat government’s ambitious homebuilding agenda could result in up to 293,000 new housing units over the next decade.Eby provided details of the housing strategy at a British Columbia Chamber of Commerce luncheon.The New Democrats passed a series of housing-related bills this fall, including restrictions on short-term rentals, allowing more density on single-family lots, loosening building permitting processes and increasing housing density in public transit areas.Eby says the government has now provided regulations and policy manuals to local governments to work with developers on housing projects.Among the details are outlines for 104 transit-oriented development areas in 31 B.C. municipalities.B.C. opposition parties have criticized the government for using its majority in the legislature to limit debate on its housing agenda.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2023.The Canadian Press

Algonquin woman gets 55 years after pleading guilty but mentally ill in deaths of boyfriend's parents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

ALGONQUIN, Ill. (AP) — An Algonquin woman who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2020 stabbing deaths of her boyfriend’s parents has been sentenced to 55 years in prison.A McHenry County judge sentenced Arin Fox on Wednesday. She had faced between 40 and 60 years in prison and must serve 100% of her sentence, WGN-TV confirmed. Drew Peterson attorney tries, fails to sell ‘tell all’ documentary Although Fox, 42, was charged with killing both Noreen S. Gilard, 69, and Leonard J. Gilard, 73, in October she pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder in Noreen Gilard's death under a plea agreement.Fox had lived with the couple, who were her boyfriend's parents, at their home in Algonquin, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. After the November 2020 killings, she drove their car to Douglas County, Colorado, where she was arrested.The Gilards were found stabbed to death in separate bedrooms in their home. A butcher knife found in the kitchen sink appeared to have been w...

Ready-to-eat chicken fried rice recalled nationwide over listeria concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

(WTAJ) — A brand of ready-to-eat chicken fried rice sold nationwide, including at Walmart, is being recalled over listeria concerns. Garland Ventures of Texas is recalling nearly 14,000 pounds of their Freshness Guaranteed brand of chicken fried rice. CosMc’s: McDonald’s reveals menu, first test locations for new restaurant concept The recalled product is printed with a lot code reading WK10CFR, and has a best-if-used-by date of Nov. 10. The package will also have a USDA mark of inspection containing the establishment number "EST. P-31993." The serving size of the affected product is 12 ounces.The fried rice was shipped to retailers nationwide and was available at Walmart, the retailer's website shows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) expressed concern that the product may be in people's freezers. As of the recall alert, no confirmed reports of sickness were reported, FSIS said. These items should be thrown away or returned to the pla...

The alcohol Illinois orders the most: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — During the warmer months, you may have found yourself out to eat. Maybe you even sat on the patio, enjoying the warm moments before they faded into the chill of winter. There's also a pretty good chance you had a cold drink in hand, according to a new report. Earlier this year, Toast, a restaurant point-of-sale and management system, reviewed customer trends across its roughly 93,000 U.S. restaurants, including people’s alcohol-purchasing behaviors during the warmer weather months. Overall, Toast found that if a customer was ordering alcohol, it was most likely going to be beer, which ranked as the most popular adult beverage being ordered in all 50 states during the second quarter of 2023.  Your Old Fashioned won’t be the same in Wisconsin: Here’s why But it wasn't Wisconsin — a state with a history in the beer industry, and the home of the most self-reported excessive drinkers — ordering the most brews. Instead, it was neighboring Minnesota, ...

2 professors killed in UNLV campus shooting identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:13 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The four people shot on campus at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wednesday, three of whom have died, have all been identified as faculty members.Two of the three people who were killed have been identified by the Clark County Coroner's Office as Professor Cha Jan "Jerry" Chang, 64, of Henderson, Nevada, and Assistant Professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, of Las Vegas.According to the coroner, the cause of death for Chang was a gunshot wound to the head. The cause of death for Velez was multiple gunshot wounds. The third deceased victim has been identified but a name has not been released. The coroner's office is working to identify the legal next of kin. A fourth person is still being treated for injuries at the hospital. Chang had been teaching at UNLV since 2001, most recently at the Lee Business School. His academic profile shows he had been published in several journals and featured as a speaker at numerous conferences. He was a certified information sys...