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ACLU: Lawsuit likely if Nebraska bill on trans health passes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Now that a Nebraska bill to ban gender-affirming treatments for minors has cleared its first and toughest hurdle, parents and children likely to be affected by the measure are preparing for a legal fight, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday.“It’s discriminatory on the basis of sex,” said Jane Seu, policy counsel with the Nebraska ACLU. “It also violates the free speech rights of doctors.”The bill — which has led opposing lawmakers to stage an effort to filibuster every bill before the Legislature this session — would outlaw gender-affirming therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for those 18 and younger. It would also ban Nebraska doctors from referring minors to other providers — even those in another state — for such treatment.Republican lawmakers on Thursday advanced the bill from the first of three rounds of debate on a largely party-line vote. But even if enacted this year, opponents say the f...

US, Canada end loophole that let asylum-seekers cross border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vermont (AP) — The immigration deal announced Friday by U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau aims to shut down a process that has enabled tens of thousands of immigrants from across the world to move between the two countries along a back road between New York state and Quebec.Since early 2017, so many migrants entered Canada via Roxham Road outside Champlain, New York that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police staffed a reception center to process them, less than five miles (8 kilometers) from the official border crossing where they’d be returned to the United States. Mounties warned they’d be arrested, but once on Canadian soil, they were allowed to stay and pursue asylum cases that can take years to resolve.The new policy says that any asylum seekers who lack U.S. or Canadian citizenship and are caught within 14 days of crossing will be sent back across the border. It was set to take effect a minute after midnight Saturday, a ...

Reese Witherspoon, Jim Toth announce plans to divorce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reese Witherspoon and her husband say they are divorcing after nearly 12 years of marriage.The actor-producer and her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, announced their breakup Friday in a joint statement on Instagram. Their wedding anniversary is Sunday.“It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the post said. “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together.”Witherspoon and Toth have one son together and they said he remains their biggest priority, asking for privacy.The statement’s authenticity was confirmed by a Witherspoon representative. No records of a divorce filing could be found in Los Angeles Superior Court.Witherspoon was previously married to actor Ryan Phillippe, with whom she has two children.The Associated Press

Former ‘Family Feud’ contestant charged in wife’s slaying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A former contestant on the long-running television game show “Family Feud” has been charged with first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois.Timothy Bliefnick, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon at his arraignment in Adams County Circuit Court in Quincy, according to court records.Bliefnick was indicted Thursday by a county grand jury, KHQA-TV reported.The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, was found by a family member inside her Quincy home after she failed to pick up her children from school. She had been shot multiple times. Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March 13. His Quincy home was searched March 1.The couple was separated and going through divorce proceedings, the television station reported from court records.A restraining order had been filed against Timothy Bliefnick, who also filed one against his estranged wife.In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family members appeared on ABC’s “Family ...

Human rights groups criticize Cuba’s new criminal code

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba enacted a new penal code this week that activists and human rights organizations warned Friday could further limit free expression and snuff out protests at a time of deepening discontent on the island.The code, a modified version of the country’s 1987 regulations approved by the Cuban government in May, will ripple to journalists, human rights activists, protesters, social media users and opposition figures. The changes come amid deepening discontent in Cuba produced by compounding crises and as the government continues to dole out punishments to participants — including 16- to 18-year-olds — in the island’s historic 2021 protests. Some older protesters have been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.Among some of the changes are increases in the minimum penalties and prison sentences on things like “public disorder,” “resistance” and “insulting national symbols.”The new code also establishes criminal categories for digital offenses, saying that people diss...

Utah social media law is ambitious, but is it enforceable?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

Utah’s sweeping social media legislation passed this week is an ambitious attempt to shield children and teens from the ill effects of social media and empower parents to decide whether their kids should be using apps like TikTok or Instagram.What’s not clear is if — and how — the new rules can be enforced and whether they will create unintended consequences for kids and teens already coping with a mental health crisis. And while parental rights are a central theme of Utah’s new laws, experts point out that the rights of parents and the best interests of children are not always aligned. For instance, allowing parents to read their kids’ private messages may be harmful to some children, and age verification requirements could give tech companies access to kids’ personal information, including biometric data, if they use tools such as facial recognition to check ages. “Children may be put at increased risk if these laws are enforced in such a way that the...

5 killed in west Sudan tribal violence, rights group says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Two days of tribal violence in western Sudan’s long-troubled Darfur region killed at least 5 people, tribal leaders and a rights group said Friday. The violence between African Masalit tribesmen and Arab shepherds in West Darfur erupted Thursday after two armed assailants fatally shot a merchant in a remote area, leaders from both groups said. In a statement, Masalit tribesmen accused Arab militia of being behind the killing. The slaying sparked a series of targeted attacks that killed at least four more people, the tribal leaders and the rights group both said. Five victims were later identified by the Darfur Bar Association, a Sudanese legal group focusing on human rights in the western province. The group called on both sides to de-escalate tensions.The violence comes as wrangling cross-party talks continue in Khartoum over how the African country will usher in a civilian government following 17 months of military rule.Sudan has been steeped in chaos after a mi...

What to stream this weekend: ‘Night Agent,’ Lana Del Rey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

From Lana Del Rey’s latest album to the new spy thriller series “The Night Agent,” here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.MOVIES TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND— The Oscar-nominated “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” was one of the high points in documentary in the past year. In it, Laura Poitras chronicles the pioneering photographer Nan Goldin, juxtaposing an intimate survey of her groundbreaking work in 1970s and 1980s New York and her contemporary crusade against the Sackler family, owners of the Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma. Goldin, who has herself wrestled with addiction, led the campaign to eradicate the Sackler name from many of the world’s top museums. Though the film didn’t win at the Oscars — something Goldin told me she was surprised to find she wanted — it took the top prize of the Venice Film Festival. In her review, AP Film Writer Linds...

Montreal firm sues Ticketmaster over pricing for ‘Official Platinum’ Drake tickets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec man who paid a premium for tickets to an upcoming Drake concert has applied for a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, alleging the American ticket sales company intentionally misled customers for financial gain.Montreal law firm LPC Avocat Inc. says in a filing that the lead plaintiff, described as a huge fan of Drake, purchased a pair of “Official Platinum” tickets for a July 14 show in Montreal for $789.54 each. But the day after he bought the tickets, a second Drake concert was announced in the city and Ticketmaster was selling the same seats for $427.06 each.The class-action application, filed earlier this week in Laval, Que., just north of Montreal, says Ticketmaster advertised its official platinum tickets as “some of the best seats in the house,” but the lawsuit says the seats secured by the plaintiff were in the upper deck of the Bell Centre — about 13 rows down from the very top of the arena.“I think it is illegal to ...

Search called off in Waukegan for missing 21-year-old Navy sailor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:06 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Authorities in Waukegan have ended their search for missing sailor Seamus Gray almost a week after he failed to return to his naval base in North Chicago. Police say they could resume their search efforts if they receive any new and credible leads on Gray's whereabouts. The news comes after search crews were joined by more than 100 sailors on Friday. Surveillance videos show Seamus Gray along the water's edge leading search crews to look near the Marina harbor. They focused their efforts near Foss Park in North Chicago Friday. Waukegan police said they would continue the search farther south near the Great Lakes area. Seamus Gray, 21, was reported missing from Ibiza bar on North Genessee Street in Downtown Waukegan Friday night. Police say Gray and his friends were escorted out of the bar around 1:30 a.m. because they were intoxicated. Minutes later he was shown walking alone near Sheridan Road and Washington Street. Video then captured Gray walking along the Marina...