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Georgia prosecutors are suing to strike down a new law that hamstrings their authority

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Four district attorneys in Georgia are asking a judge to strike down a law creating a commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors, arguing it violates the U.S. and Georgia constitutions.The attack on Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, comes after Republicans pushed through a law creating the panel earlier this year. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp pledged when he signed the law that it would curb “far-left prosecutors” who are “making our communities less safe.”Sherry Boston, the district attorney in the overwhelmingly Democratic Atlanta suburb of DeKalb County and the lead plaintiff challenging the law, called the issue “bigger than Georgia.”“We are talking about prosecutorial discretion and prosecutorial independence, both of which have been solidly under assault the last few years,” Boston told The Associated Press.Republicans nationwide are pushing back on a sea change in pros...

Burnout, low pay and politics are driving away teachers. Turnover is soaring for educators of color

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Rhonda Hicks could have kept working into her 60s. She loved teaching and loved her students in Philadelphia’s public schools. As a Black woman, she took pride in being a role model for many children of color.But other aspects of the job deteriorated, such as growing demands from administrators over what and how to teach. And when she retires in a few weeks, she will join a disproportionately high number of Black and Hispanic teachers in her state who are leaving the profession.“I enjoy actually teaching, that part I’ve always enjoyed,” said Hicks, 59. “Sometimes it’s a little stressful. Sometimes the kids can be difficult. But it’s the higher-ups: ‘Do it this way or don’t do it at all.’”Teachers are leaving jobs in growing numbers, state reports show. The turnover in some cases is highest among teachers of color. A major culprit: stress — from pandemic-era burnout, low pay and the intrusion of politics into classrooms. But the burdens can be heavier in school...

Broadway star Phillipa Soo is working on picture book about her childhood stage fright

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway star Phillipa Soo has not forgotten her childhood stage fright. The Grammy-winning actor and singer known for her roles in “Hamilton,” “Into the Woods” and other musicals is collaborating with her sister-in-law Maris Pasquale Doran and illustrator Qin Leng on a picture book about a girl more at ease singing to her stuffed animals than in front of a crowd. Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, announced Wednesday that “Piper Chen Sings” will come out next April.“I have often been asked, ‘If you could say anything to your younger self, what would it be?’ ‘Piper Chen Sings’ is certainly an answer to that question,” Soo, 32, said in a statement. “This book comes straight from the heart and is inspired by my own life and experiences — a little girl who loves to sing, but is overwhelmed with nervousness about singing in front of others.”Soo originated the role of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s wife, ...

RCMP say body of Nova Scotia youth who went missing in flood has been found

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

Nova Scotia RCMP said Wednesday they believe they have recovered the body of a youth who went missing July 22 during a severe storm.The province’s medical examiner still needs to positively identify the remains found on Tuesday morning, police told reporters. They said they recovered the body along the shore in Advocate Harbour, N.S., about 70 kilometres northwest of the area where the youth and three other people went missing in floodwaters.Last week, searchers recovered the bodies of two six-year-old children — identified as Natalie Hazel Harnish and Colton Sisco — and 52-year-old Nicholas Holland, who was travelling with the youth who had been missing.At a news conference Wednesday, Premier Tim Houston thanked RCMP and other first responders, including volunteer firefighters, who helped search shorelines and flooded fields for the missing people.“We’re thankful and grateful for your efforts,” Houston said. “And we’ll never know how ...

U.S. director Barry Jenkins to head Platform prize jury at Toronto film festival

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

TORONTO — Acclaimed filmmaker Barry Jenkins has been selected as the jury chair for the competitive Platform program at the Toronto International Film Festival.The “Moonlight” director heads a three-member panel that will select the winner of a $20,000 award. The jury includes Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim, whose film “Riceboy Sleeps” won last year’s prize, and Nadine Labaki whose Oscar-nominated film “Capernaum” won the 2018 jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.The 10-film program opens with “Dream Scenario” from U.S. filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli and includes Canadian drama “The King Tide,” directed by Christian Sparkes.The program is meant to showcase “films with unique directorial perspectives.” All titles will have their world premieres at TIFF, including “Dear Jassi,” from Indian director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar.TIFF takes place Sept. 7 to 17.Here’s a look at the rest of the Platform lineup:-“Great Absence,” directed by Kei Chika-ura, Japan;...

‘I got bad news’: Toronto Blue Jays’ Kiermaier says bike was stolen from garage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is quickly getting acclimated to his new team and city, sharing a rather upsetting but perhaps unsurprising update regarding his new life in the 6ix.Kiermaier, who joined the Blue Jays as a free agent after spending his entire baseball career with the Tampa Bay Rays, told CityNews ahead of Tuesday’s game that his bike was stolen from his Toronto home.“I got some bad news,” Kiermaier told CityNews sports reporter Lindsay Dunn. “My garage door was malfunctioning during a road trip, and it was going up and down. The neighbour said it was left open for maybe more than a day, and it was real enticing for someone, and they yanked it.”The 33-year-old was using his bike to get around the city, including to the Rogers Centre, for home games.“It’s alright, though. It got me to and from the park. I am thankful for my bike rides.”Kiermaier is everything Blue Jays could have hoped forKiermaier has been a...

American fugitive who faked death can be extradited to Utah to face rape charge, UK judge says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An American fugitive accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah can be extradited to the U.S., a judge in Scotland ruled Wednesday, calling the man “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.” The wanted man known in Scotland as Nicholas Rossi fought his return since being arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19. He repeatedly appeared in court — and in several television interviews — in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil. But judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court had previously dismissed the fugitive’s claims of mistaken identity as “implausible” and “fanciful” after the man claimed he had been framed by authorities who had tattooed him and surreptitiously taken his fingerprints while he was in a coma to connect him to Rossi.“I concluded that the evidence of the requested...

Russian drone strikes hit a Ukrainian port on Romania’s border that is key to grain exports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports. Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that about 40,000 metric tons (44,000 tons) of grain, “which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, Israel,” was damaged in the attack.The attacks followed the end of a deal with Russia that had allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets from the Black Sea port of Odesa. Since scrapping the deal, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes, compounding the blow to the key industry. In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail was hit in the strikes. Izmail is on the Danube River that for...

Bangladesh court sentences exiled opposition leader to 9 years in jail on corruption charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A court in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son and heir apparent on Wednesday to nine years in prison after finding the opposition leader guilty in a corruption case filed by the government in 2007.Judge Mohammed Asaduzzaman of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court delivered the sentence in absentia to Tarique Rahman. He also gave a three-year sentence in absentia to Rahman’s wife, Zubaida Rahman, who also lives abroad. Rahman is the acting chairman of the country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has been holding anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The judge also fined Rahman more than $273,000. If unpaid, he will be subject to an additional three months in jail.Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the secretary general of Zia’s party, rejected the verdict, saying it was politically motivated to keep Rahman from politics.The government’s An...

Tracking the Tropics: Hurricane season enters its busiest stretch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:24 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — While much of the east coast was sparred from any major tropical storm threats during the month of July, things could begin to change.The Atlantic hurricane season is known for its slow starts, but things begin to pick up when we flip our calendars to August."Climatologically speaking, the busiest time of the season is August and September, where 60% of all storms form,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Amanda Holly said.Since 1995, only five hurricane seasons have escaped the month without an Atlantic hurricane. The 2022 hurricane season was one of them.(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service)The ‘campfire’ chart above shows the number of hurricanes (yellow area), and combined named storms and hurricanes (red area) that occur on each calendar day over a 100-year period. The chart shows the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season on Sept. 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October.So why are hurricanes more l...