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DNA match in Ibrahim Ali murder case as exact as identical twins, B.C. court is told

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

VANCOUVER — An RCMP expert testifying at Ibrahim Ali’s murder trial told the court she has never seen a DNA match as close as the one between the suspect and samples found on his alleged victim — except for DNA matches between identical twins.Forensic biologist Christine Crossman said police investigators were very thorough in their collection and testing of genetic samples from the body of the 13-year-old girl, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.Crossman told the court only the DNA of Ali and the girl was detected from swabs of the girl’s vaginal area, where sperm cells yielded samples that matched Ali’s DNA.Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of the girl whose body was found in a Burnaby, B.C., park six years ago.“In any type of occurrence in which there is possibly a sexual component, the best exhibits from a biology perspective are internal swabs from the alleged complainant or victim,” Crossman said about how th...

Government websites down in four provinces, territories; cyberattacks blamed in two

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

Government websites in four provinces and territories were shut down Thursday, with at least two jurisdictions blaming cyberattacks for their outages.Websites for Yukon, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut were all inaccessible. P.E.I. and Yukon said cyberattacks were behind their shutdowns.“At midnight on Sept.14, Yukon.ca experienced a cyberattack that shut down the website and other public-facing Yukon government websites,” said a statement from the territory.A news release from P.E.I. said an attack had not compromised data but warned it might hinder transactions at government service centres.Manitoba said its interruption was due to network and server infrastructure and there was no indication it was related to a cyberattack.The government of Nunavut could not be immediately reached for comment.Officials in Yukon and P.E.I. said cyberattackers used the denial-of-service tactic, in which the target website is flooded with too many requests.“A denial-of-s...

Donald Trump’s last-minute legal challenge could disrupt New York fraud trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

A last-minute legal challenge by Donald Trump ’s lawyers could disrupt a trial scheduled for next month in the business fraud lawsuit against the former president and his company by New York Attorney General Letitia James.A state appeals court judge on Thursday ordered a potential postponement of the non-jury trial, scheduled to start Oct. 2, after the former president’s lawyers filed a lawsuit accusing the trial judge, Arthur Engoron, of repeatedly abusing his authority.Justice David Friedman, a judge on the state’s intermediate appellate court, granted an interim stay of the trial and ordered the full appeals court to consider the lawsuit on an expedited basis. The court indicated it would issue a decision the week of Sept. 25, meaning the trial could still start on schedule depending on how it rules.Among the issues raised by Trump’s lawyers were Engoron’s terse refusal to grant their recent request for a three-week trial delay, which he ruled as “completely without merit,”...

Bill Clinton remembers Bill Richardson as skilled, informal US diplomat: ‘The bad guys liked him’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Bill Clinton paid homage at a funeral mass Thursday to former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as a groundbreaking Latino politician and unorthodox master diplomat who could coax good things out of dictators and despots. Richardson served as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary under the former president, who described his unique trust in Richardson on the international stage and as a custodian of national security and nuclear weapons labs, including facilities at Los Alamos, New Mexico.“The bad guys liked him. But there’s a reason for that,” said Clinton, describing an early mission by Richardson as U.N. ambassador to encourage a democratic transition of power in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “If you scratch hard enough and long enough on anybody, there’s almost always still a person down there somewhere. … He may be twisted beyond untwisting. But once in a while, they do the right thing anyway. Bill Ric...

Miami city commissioner charged with bribery and money laundering

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A city of Miami commissioner accused of bribery and money laundering was arrested Thursday on multiple corruption charges, officials said.Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and a co-defendant, Miami attorney William Riley Jr., were both booked into the Miami-Dade county jail and were expected to make their first court appearances on Friday, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.Separate attorneys for Diaz de la Portilla and Riley both said their clients are innocent and look forward to vindication in a court of law.Diaz de la Portilla said in a statement that the charges were politically motivated.“When the smoke clears, I am confident that these spurious charges will evaporate into thin air,” Diaz de la Portilla said.Diaz de la Portilla and Riley accepted more than $15,000 in payments for the Miami-Dade County Court judicial campaign of Diaz de la Portilla’s brother but did not report them, as required by state law, investigators said. R...

Families challenge North Dakota’s ban on gender-affirming care for children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Families and a pediatrician are challenging North Dakota’s law criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors, the latest lawsuit in many states with similar bans.Gender Justice on Thursday announced the state district court lawsuit in a news conference at the state Capitol in Bismarck. The lawsuit against the state attorney general and state’s attorneys of three counties seeks to immediately block the ban, which took effect in April, and to have a judge find it unconstitutional and stop the state from enforcing it.State lawmakers “have outlawed essential health care for these kids simply and exclusively because they are transgender,” Gender Justice attorney and North Dakota state director Christina Sambor told reporters. “They have stripped parents of their right to decide for themselves what’s best for their own children. They have made it a criminal offense for doctors to provide health care that can literally save children’s lives.”T...

Ohio attorney general rejects language for political mapmaking reform amendment for a second time

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office again rejected petition language Thursday for a constitutional amendment aimed at remaking the state’s troubled system for drawing political maps, frustrating the effort’s backers. In his rejection letter, Republican Dave Yost said Citizens Not Politicians’ second submission had one “critical omission”: How party affiliation would be determined under the new system.He said because a key feature of the new citizen-led redistricting commission would be political balance, “how political affiliation is determined, who makes those determinations and what rules apply are critical issues that must be included in a summary of the proposed amendment if it is to be fair and truthful.”The group, which includes two former Ohio Supreme Court justices, aims to place the proposal on next year’s fall ballot. A spokesman said they will collect more signatures and keep trying.“We are disappointed and frustrated that the Attorn...

Texas AG Ken Paxton touts Donald Trump’s support in final stretch of impeachment trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With time running out in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ‘s impeachment trial on corruption charges, the Republican on Thursday pointed to renewed support from Donald Trump before a jury of GOP lawmakers decides his future. The final stretch of the historic trial is pushing Paxton closer to a verdict that will determine whether one of Texas’ most powerful figures — who tried to baselessly help Trump overturn the 2020 election — is removed from office after years of criminal charges and alleged scandal. Closing arguments were likely to begin in the coming days. Trump blasted the impeachment as “shameful” in the waning moments of a trial that has showcased fractures in the party. Paxton was impeached by the Republican-led Texas House in May and activists on the hard right have sought to dial up pressure on GOP senators to acquit. “Democrats are feeling very good right now as they watch, as usual, the Republicans fight & eat away at each other. It...

Girl, 17, charged in carjacking, beating of 62-year-old man in Chinatown

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

CHICAGO — A 17-year-old girl is charged with the brutal carjacking of a 62-year-old man in Chinatown last week. According to police, the unidentified girl is one of three offenders who assaulted a man and later made off with his vehicle in the 200 block of W. 22nd Place on Sept. 5. The attack was captured on video. ‘It seemed to be the only choice’: Suspect allegedly leaves note inside victim’s car after violent attack Following her arrest on Wednesday, police booked the 17-year-old on felony counts of vehicular hijacking with a weapon and aggravated battery. Last Friday, Alderwoman Nicole Lee (11th Ward) pledged "increased visible police presence in Chinatown," adding that residents should remain vigilant and report suspicious activity. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines"As a community, it is crucial that we look out for one another and report crimes to the police," Lee told WGN News on Sept. 8. "If you are the victim of a crime, we advise that you call 911 immediately."

Why is the United Auto Workers union poised to strike major US car makers?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:15 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Auto workers are poised to go on strike at a few targeted automotive factories unless General Motors, Ford and Stellantis grant big pay raises and restore concessions that the workers made years ago, when the companies were in financial trouble.Shawn Fain, the combative president of the United Auto Workers union, has outlined a strategy of using what he calls stand-up strikes in which a small percentage of the union’s 146,000 members would walk off the job at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is interviewed, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Detroit. Fain, who won the UAW’s presidency this spring in the first direct election by members, says the union plans to go on strike against any Detroit automaker that doesn't have an agreement by the time contracts expire next week. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)Fain says the targeted strikes will give the union leverage in contract talks and keep the auto companies guessing about the UAW’s next m...