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3 face federal charges in bizarre South Florida kidnapping plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two brothers and another man are facing federal charges following a kidnapping that took some bizarre twists, including an attempted waterboarding when they tried to make the victim help them lure the intended target, federal officials said Tuesday.The suspects kidnapped the man at gunpoint outside his apartment in Plantation, Florida, on Oct. 13, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. They tossed his cellphone out of the car as they drove to a home, where they took him inside.Eventually, they learned they had the wrong person, mistaking him for his coworker, who was the intended target. He told police the men threatened him, put an electric drill to his skin and pointed a firearm at him, before dousing him with water in what prosecutors said was a simulated waterboarding. The victim told them he thought he was going to drown.The men began brainstorming how the victim could help lure the coworker to them, authorities said. They provide...

Banking regulator’s proposals on mortgage rules lack stakeholder support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

TORONTO — Mortgage strategist Robert McLister says the real estate industry is likely breathing a sigh of relief after Canada’s banking regulator signalled it might not move ahead with some proposed tightening of its mortgage lending rules.The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions floated the proposals in January as part of its wide-ranging review of the B-20 mortgage underwriting rules.It included potential additional conditions for a stress test, where would-be borrowers must prove they could continue to make mortgage payments at a higher interest rate.It says stakeholders were generally not supportive of additional debt service measures and raised concerns about the disproportionate impact that new industry-wide measures could have on smaller lenders.McLister agrees with concerns that tougher loan-to-income restrictions could scale back lending.He says flexibility for lenders can be better maintained if the regulator does not institute defined debt ratio li...

War between Israel and Hamas raises fears about rising US hostility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

A fatal stabbing in Illinois, a gun pointed at protesters in Pennsylvania, vandalism at synagogues and harassment of staff at a Palestinian restaurant all are raising fears that the war between Israel and Hamas is sparking violence in the United States.The tensions follow a familiar pattern of crimes against Jewish and Muslim communities rising when conflict erupts in the Middle East and Americans have been killed or taken hostage.“We have a two pronged threat to American faith communities,” said Brian Levin, founding director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernadino.While its too soon to say with certainty whether anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish crimes have increased during the war, hate crimes overall increased in the U.S. last year. In its annual report released Monday, the FBI estimated that hate crimes increased by 7% to 11,634 cases in 2022 compared to the previous year. With 1,124 incidents, anti-Jewish attacks were the secon...

Illinois boy killed in alleged hate crime remembered as kind, playful as suspect appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — A 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy who authorities allege was stabbed 26 times by his landlord in response to escalating right-wing rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war was being remembered as a kind child while multiple authorities investigate the attack that has become a symbol of larger struggles with hate crime in the U.S.Crowds of mourners in the heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, paid respects Monday as Wadea Al-Fayoume was buried. His mother, who was also critically injured in the attack that led to condemnation from local elected officials to the White House, remained hospitalized. A Tuesday evening vigil was planned at a community center in a nearby suburb. During funeral services, family and friends remembered Wadea as an energetic boy who loved playing games. The child, who recently celebrated a birthday, was also seen as another innocent casualty in the escalating war.“Wadea is a child and he is not the only one under attack,” said M...

Anchorage police investigate after razor blades are found twice near playground equipment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

EAGLE RIVER, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police are investigating after razor blades were twice found in a suburban park, including once on a slide as a child was preparing to use it, a television station is reporting.The first incident occurred Oct. 8 when Felicia Pope said she saw razor blades on the slide in Schroeder Park in suburban Eagle River just as her 3-year-old daughter Abigail was preparing to slide down, she told KTUU-TV.“I ran as fast as my body would let me run — even faster” to stop her daughter, Pope said.“It was designed to catch a kid at max force with gravity working against them. It was designed to harm,” she said.Police were called to the park again Sunday after a razor blade was found on the ground by playground equipment.No injuries have been reported.Anchorage police told KTUU they are investigating.The Associated Press

Accused in London, Ont., attack says he felt ‘urge’ to hit Muslim family members

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

The man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in an alleged act of terrorism is telling a jury he felt an “urge” to hit them with his truck after seeing them walking on a sidewalk in London, Ont.On the stand in the Windsor, Ont., courtroom where his trial is taking place, Nathaniel Veltman says he knew they were Muslims from the clothes they were wearing and he noticed that the man in the group had a beard.Veltman says he first drove past the family, then made a U-turn and drove directly at them, veering to the right with the intention of crashing into them with his pickup truck.He testified that at the time of the attack he was in a dreamlike state, saying his mind was “a mess.”Veltman told the court that after making the U-turn he stepped on the gas and drove directly at the family while staring at them.A split second before it happened, he testified that he wanted to change his mind, but it was “too late.”When asked by the defence ...

Book Review: Dolly Parton gives a tour of her closet in ‘Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

Dolly Parton’s iconic look — big hair, big heels and tight low-cut dresses covered in rhinestones or beads — is a big part of her lasting appeal, nearly as important as her vast catalogue of country ballads and bangers that made her a star.In “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones,” Parton takes fans on a detailed tour through her closet, filled with 450 vivid photos of decades of sparkly dresses, jumpsuits, jeans and even wigs, which she started wearing early in her career.She chronicles how she always knew she wanted a maximalist, flashy look, and stayed true to her personal style despite seemingly endless objections by her father, managers and others who always wanted her to “tone it down.”“From early on I loved the big hair and makeup, the long nails, the high heels, the flashy clothes,” she writes. “But believe it or not, I had to fight for that look.”Starting with replicas of Dolly’s “Coat of Many Colors,” based on her famous song about a coat her mother made her, Dol...

How the Bears will honor Dick Butkus for the rest of the 2023 season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It was a day to honor one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise, but it won't be the only time the Bears will have Dick Butkus on their minds this season.That's because the team has a way in which they'll honor the Hall of Fame linebacker for their remaining 11 games of the 2023 campaign. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)Among the many tributes the Bears had to the legend during Sunday's game against the Vikings was a No. 51 patch on the team's jerseys. That is the number that Butkus had during his time with the team that was retired on October 31, 1994. That will remain for the rest of the 2023 season in a rare gesture by the franchise.Butkus died at the age of 80 at his home in Malibu, California on October 5. It's a reminder of the importance of Butkus to the franchise, who was voted as the second-best in team history behind Walter Payton in 2019 in a list of top 100 players compiled by the Bears in celebration of their 100th anniversary....

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown arrested over missed child support payments: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Former wide receiver Antonio Brown was arrested in Florida over the weekend, according to multiple media reports. Brown was taken into custody Sunday for allegedly failing to pay child support, according to WPLG. He was released on a $15,000 bond. The mother of one of his children told TMZ on Sunday that Brown owes more than $30,000 in child support, and that she would like to see him arrested. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer faced arrest in August over missing a child support payment. At the time, a Miami-Dade County judge determined Brown missed a $15,000 child support payment.His Sunday arrest was reportedly in connection to that accusation, CBS reports.Earlier this year, Brown paid $30,000 in child support to avoid being arrested, according to Sports Illustrated. Brown last played in the NFL in 2021. He spent time nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, one with the New England Patriots, and two in Tampa.

Georgetown voters to consider $130 million bond election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:00 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) —The City of Georgetown has asked voters to consider a $130 million bond package. If approved, the package's four propositions would allow the city to expand and build new city facilities to accommodate a growing population.Proposition A, which costs $56 million, would allow the City of Georgetown to build an 80,000 square-foot Customer Service Center.City Manager David Morgan said right now, the city is leasing space to accommodate the need for office space. He said this new service center would house utility billing, fire inspection, planning, engineering and several other services."We've done some analysis to show that over a 30-year period of time, it'll cost $80 million less to own our own facility and build on our existing land than it will be to pay market rate leases," Morgan said.Proposition B's price tag is $49 million and would allow the city to expand its recreation center on Austin Avenue. The expansion would add 30,000 square feet to the facili...