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Ex-head of Michigan marijuana board admits he took bribes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

The former head of a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes when he led the panel over a two-year period, authorities said Thursday.Rick Johnson acknowledged in a signed court filing that he acted “corruptly” when he accepted cash and other benefits to help businesses get licenses. Charges against Johnson and three other men were announced by U.S. Attorney Mark Totten at a press conference near the Capitol in Lansing.Johnson, 70, was chairman of the marijuana board for two years until spring 2019. The Republican years earlier also was a powerful lawmaker, serving as House speaker from 2001 through 2004.“Public corruption is a poison to any democracy. … That poison is especially toxic here,” Totten said. “The marijuana industry has been likened to a modern-day gold rush, a new frontier where participants can stake their claim and just maybe return big rewards.”The marijuana board reviewed and appro...

Man seriously injured in stabbing near Yonge and Gerrard

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a suspect after a man was stabbed in the city’s downtown core.Police and paramedics were called to the Yonge and Gerrard streets area, near Toronto Metropolitan University, just after 11 a.m. on Thursday.Paramedics say the man, who is in his 20s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. However, police say his injuries are life-threatening.Police say he was stabbed in the abdomen.

House Republicans subpoena former prosecutor in Trump case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday subpoenaed one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ordered Mark Pomerantz to testify before the committee by April 30. The subpoena, reviewed by The Associated Press, is the latest escalation by Republicans as they probe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, days after Trump was charged in a 34-count felony indictment in connection with a hush money scheme involving a porn actor. Pomerantz refused to voluntarily cooperate with the committee’s request last month at the instruction of Bragg’s office, citing the ongoing investigation. The Manhattan D.A.’s office has accused Jordan’s committee of overstepping its legal authority and infringing on New York state sovereignty. Jordan has now written in a letter to Pomerantz, ...

Guard who was fired over anti-Muslim meme is reinstated

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut prison guard who was fired in 2021, several years after posting what was determined by the state to be an anti-Muslim meme on Facebook, has been reinstated to his job.An arbitrator ruled in February that Anthony Marlak’s termination was an excessive response by the state Department of Correction and reduced the punishment to a 25-day suspension. Marlak, who served as a correctional officer for 14 years, returned to his job at the Garner Correctional Institution in March, he told The Associated Press on Thursday.The Connecticut Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations had called for the firing of Marlak two years ago citing a meme he posted on Facebook in 2017, which it said depicted five apparently Muslim men hanging from nooses with the caption, “Islamic Wind Chimes.”Marlak, an Air Force veteran, has acknowledged that he posted the meme, but said the caption on his post read “ISIS Wind Chimes” and was meant to target the ...

At least 25 people abducted by gunmen in western Cameroon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — At least 25 people were abducted during a week of attacks by armed men in western Cameroon, local officials said Thursday.The kidnappings by gang members took place in several villages in Ako district along the Nigerian border, Patrick Kernyuy Tah, the top official in Ako, said. “Several hundred people fled the attacks by unidentified gunmen in Abafum, Akwancha and Abutu villages,” he said. The government has deployed the military to rescue those abducted and help the injured, he said.Local residents have been calling on Cameroon authorities to increase security in the area, as armed gangs operate on both sides of the border. While it’s unclear who is responsible for the abductions, officials believe it could be ethnic Fulani herders from Nigeria, a largely Muslim semi-nomadic group who regularly cross into Cameroon with their cattle and clash with farmers.The Central African nation has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists ...

What responsibility do social media platforms have in filtering AI-generated content?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

With the rise of artificial intelligence(AI)-generated images and videos going viral on social media, it opens up a discussion of how much responsibility the companies that run these platforms should carry when their users get duped.Recent AI-generated images of the Pope wearing a puffy white coat and a AI-generated video of an interview between popular podcaster Joe Rogan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are just some examples where users have believed them to be reality.AI expert Ritish Kotak said there is a role these platforms must play to ensure that type of information or content is not sued for nefarious purposes.“Clearly there’s parody accounts and then stuff that’s used for fun. But, on the flip side, is that this opens up a whole discussion around ‘Did that person actually consent to it?’ If they’re in the public eye, what is the extent of even parody accounts that can be used because can it be used to pull or trick somebody into thinki...

Lake County Sherrif's Office K9 'Zeus' gifted bullet-proof vest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — Lake County Sherrif's Office K9 Zeus will now report to duty with extra protection, thanks to a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the four-legged responders. Zeus will have a bullet protective vest, donated by 'Vested Interests in K9s Inc.' and sponsored by Barbara Napolitano from Oak Brook, IL.The vest will be embroidered with 'Gifted by B. Napolitano.''Vested Interests in K9s, Inc.' is a charity non-profit organization whose whole mission is to provide body armor and forms of would protection for dogs of law enforcement. The organization has provided over 5,043 vests to K9s in the country with an estimated 30,000 law enforcement dogs in all 50 states. Bulls’ position in the play-in tournament is set For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978

Ocasio-Cortez calls for Thomas impeachment after report of undisclosed gifts from GOP donor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

(The Hill) -- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be impeached following a report that he accepted luxurious gifts from a billionaire Republican donor for decades.For years, Thomas took luxury trips and outings on yachts and private jets owned by Dallas businessman Harlan Crow, according to an investigation by ProPublica. Thomas did not disclose the travel, the investigation found. Crow has donated lavishly to Republican candidates.Ocasio-Cortez blasted the alleged actions as an “almost cartoonish” level of corruption.“This is beyond party or partisanship,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “This degree of corruption is shocking — almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached.”The New York congresswoman also said the report of Thomas’s alleged misconduct reflects negatively on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. “Barring some dramatic change, this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of...

TikTok challenge? 10 Massachusetts kids taken to hospital after student distributes hot gum, official say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

ORANGE, Mass. (WWLP) -- At least 10 kids were taken to the hospital after an incident at a Massachusetts school in which gum containing "pepper" was handed out to students during recess. Police warned of a possible connection to a TikTok challenge.According to Dr. Elizabeth Teahan-Zielinski, superintendent of the Orange School District, a Dexter Park school student purchased the gum -- called Trouble Bubble -- online and offered it to several students. It contained products that when ingested, caused digestive issues and burning in the mouth and esophagus. Students who just touched the gum were also reporting skin reactions such as eye irritation."I've been a bus driver for over 20 years and have never seen anything like this," said Kelly Graves, a bus driver for the Orange School District. "More of the bus drivers talking about it because when they pulled up to the school to see all the emergency vehicles, it was quite alarming." Do not feed wild turkey spotted in Ludlow The Oran...

FBI broke into wrong hotel room during training exercise, detained uninvolved guest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

BOSTON (WPRI) — An investigation is underway after federal agents broke into the wrong hotel room during a training exercise Tuesday night.In a statement released Wednesday, the FBI Boston Division explained that agents with the U.S. Department of Defense were conducting a training exercise at a hotel in Boston "to simulate a situation their personnel might encounter in a deployed environment."However, the federal agents went to the wrong hotel room."Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player," the statement reads. Woman suspected of poisoning husband with drain cleaner No one was injured, and the Boston Police Department responded to the hotel and confirmed the federal agents were conducting a training exercise."Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partners," the statement continues. "We take these incidents very seriously."The FBI Boston Division and the U.S. De...