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EPA staff slow to report health risks from lead-tainted Benton Harbor water, report states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Health risks due to high lead levels in drinking water in a majority Black and impoverished Michigan city were not taken quickly to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leadership, according to a report released Thursday.The EPA Office of Inspector General said staff monitoring the state’s response to lead levels and compliance in Benton Harbor failed to “elevate” the issue of health risks to the city’s residents, per an EPA policy that encourages staff to do so. The issues met several EPA elevation policy criteria, including the appearance of a substantial threat to public health and that normal enforcement and compliance tools seemed unlikely to succeed in the short term, the report said.In October 2018, the state notified the Benton Harbor water system it had exceeded 15 parts per billion in water samples — the federal threshold for taking action.Those levels stayed high. In 2021, activists ramped up pressure for more action, and stat...

Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh predicts “concrete steps soon” to address ethics concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told a judicial conference on Thursday he hopes there will be “concrete steps soon” to address recent ethics concerns surrounding the court, but he stopped short of addressing calls for justices to institute an official code of conduct.“We can increase confidence. We’re working on that,” Kavanaugh told the judicial conference in Ohio. He said all nine justices recognize that public confidence in the court is important, particularly now.“There’s a storm around us in the political world and the world at large in America,” he said. “We, as judges and the legal system, need to try to be a little more, I think, of the calm in the storm.”Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged recently that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow even as he rejected criticism over his failure to report trips in previous years.Reporting by the investigative news site ProPublica also revealed that...

After 25 years behind bars, a Black man walks free. Racist detective ignored a key witness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In the predawn hours of March 20, 1998, a neighbor heard screams coming from the home in Salem of Harriet “Sunny” Thompson and then saw a white man run from the house, leaving Thompson inside dead of stab wounds.Yet a Black man, Jesse Johnson, was convicted by a jury in 2004 of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. He walked free this week after 25 years behind bars when prosecutors decided to drop retrial efforts, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed Johnson’s conviction.The jury never got a chance to hear neighbor Patricia Hubbard testify to what she saw and heard that night. After Johnson was convicted, Hubbard told investigators that when she began describing what she had seen to a police detective, he responded, twice using a racial epithet: a Black woman got murdered and a Black man “is going to pay for it.”Johnson’s trial attorney never sought out Hubbard, a fact that the appeals court cited when it reversed the convict...

Palestinian leader’s comments on Holocaust draw accusations of antisemitism from US and Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States, Germany and the European Union on Thursday condemned recent comments about the Holocaust by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accusing him of distorting history and promoting antisemitic stereotypes.In a speech last month to senior members of his Fatah movement, Abbas said that Adolf Hitler killed European Jews not because of antisemitism, but because of their “social functions” in society, such as money lending.“These people were fought because of their social function related to money, usury,” Abbas said in the speech. “From Hitler’s point of view, they were sabotaging, and therefore he hated them.”The speech was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a think tank in Washington founded by Israeli analysts that translates speeches from Arabic and other languages for Western audiences. Critics have accused MEMRI of promoting a pro-Israel agenda.In the Holocaust, 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their allies. Hitler...

Canadian consumer a ‘bright spot’ for Couche-Tard amid grab bag of pressures: CEO

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

LAVAL, Que. — Canada appeared to be a “bright spot” for Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. in its latest quarter as the convenience store giant battles a slew of pressures. President and CEO Brian Hannasch told analysts that the company’s Canadian operations led the way for a strong start to the convenience store giant’s financial year, while U.S. consumers seemingly feeling the financial pinch. “When we look at our sales in the U.S., we’re seeing certainly some trading down to more budget and price-conscious decisions,” Hannasch said on a conference call Thursday to discuss the company’s latest results. “We continue to see double-digit growth year over year on private label. So that tells me a certain segment of our customer base is stretched … a little bit.”However, he noted continued resilience in Canada. “We continue to see that be a bright spot in our business,” Hannasch said.Same-store merchandise sales, or sales at ...

Brussels Midi Station, once a stately gateway to Belgium, has turned into festering sore of nation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium acknowledged Thursday that its major rail gateway, the Brussels Midi Station, has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence that is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union. The government vowed to tackle the problem, but some critics say action is coming way too late, while others say that any cleanup operation will only push the big-city problems to other neighborhoods. Belgium, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with a major tourism industry, has neglected the once-stately Midi Station for decades. It has become a symbol of dysfunctional government as increasingly many of the 160,000 daily commuters and tourists no longer fully feel safe.The increasing spread of crack cocaine and open dealing and use of drugs in the neighborhood over the past year have exacerbated an already bad situation to the point that petty theft, fights and harassment of tourists have become everyday headline news ...

Interest rate hikes might be over but don’t expect housing market to flare up: BMO

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

TORONTO — One Bay Street economist says it’s unlikely the housing market will flare up, despite the Bank of Canada’s decision to keep its key interest rate on hold on Wednesday.Robert Kavcic, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, said softer job markets, new listings on the housing market and a restrictive mortgage market are all working against the housing market this fall. “The lowest mortgage rate available today would still be about (one percentage point) higher than the lowest rate we saw available back in the spring,” Kavcic said in an interview.“That makes a big difference,” he added.Earlier this year, Kavcic said, the market was expecting a recession, the bond market rallied and pulled the yields down. Those factors, combined with the Bank of Canada’s pause on interest rate hikes, filtered through the mortgage market to heat up the real estate sector.“But right now, we’re not getting that relief,” he said. Kavc...

‘That ’70s Show' actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison for rapes of 2 women

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge sentenced “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old Masterson after hearing statements from the women about the trauma they experienced and the suffering caused by the disturbing memories in the years since.The actor, who has been in custody since May, sat in court wearing a suit. Masterson watched the women without visible reaction as they spoke.“When you raped me, you stole from me,” said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003. “That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” she said. “The world is better off with you in prison.” Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion The other woman Masterson was found guilty of raping said he “has not shown an ounce of remorse for t...

'Murdaugh Murders: The Movie' to premiere on Lifetime in October

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A drama centered around Alex Murdaugh, a once-prominent attorney turned convicted killer in South Carolina's Lowcountry, and his family is set to premiere on the Lifetime Network this fall.The network announced Wednesday that its milestone 500th original movie will follow the “true story” of Alex Murdaugh, played by award-winning actor Bill Pullman ("Independence Day" and "The Sinner"). Murdaugh was found guilty in the double murder of his wife, Margaret, and youngest son, Paul.Margaret and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death near hunting kennels on the family’s sprawling Colleton County property in June 2021. After a lengthy trial in early 2023, Alex Murdaugh was ultimately found guilty of their murders and sentenced to life in prison. Former WWE pro wrestling star dies: reports Lifetime's synopsis of the movie reads in part: "Even with all of Alex’s influence, he couldn’t prevent The Murdaugh Family’s legacy from being tarnished after Paul was invo...

Biden trails Haley, polling neck-and-neck with other Republicans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:31 GMT

(The Hill) – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the only GOP presidential candidate who is leading in a hypothetical matchup with President Biden, according to a new poll. The CNN poll, released Thursday and conducted by SSRS, found that Haley led Biden 49 percent to 43 percent, while every other major Republican candidate remains neck-and-neck with Biden. No other GOP hopeful — including former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former President Trump — showed more than a 2-point margin in the matchup with the sitting president.When asked about a potential rematch between Trump and Biden, 47 percent said they would choose the former president and 46 percent said they would chose the current president. Five percent said they would choose a different candidate and 2 percent said they did not plan to vote.The poll also found that 46 percent of voters said a...