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Drowning death of former President Obama’s personal chef on Martha’s Vineyard ruled an accident

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — The drowning death of former President Barack Obama’s personal chef near the family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard last month has been ruled an accident by the Massachusetts medical examiner.Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia drowned while using a paddleboard in Edgartown Great Pond on July 24, the Massachusetts State Police said.Campbell was employed by the Obamas and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard. The Obamas were not present at the home at the time of the accident.Campbell’s death was determined to be an accidental drowning following “submersion in a body of water,” Timothy McGuirk, a spokesperson for the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said Wednesday.In a statement following his drowning, the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, called Campbell a “beloved part of our family.”“When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House — creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together,...

Supporters of silenced Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr won’t face trespassing charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana prosecutors are declining to pursue misdemeanor trespassing charges against seven people who were arrested in the state House gallery for protesting after Republicans denied transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr the right to debate bills near the end of the 2023 legislative session.The Lewis and Clark County Attorney’s Office filed motions in Justice Court to dismiss the charges “in the best interests of justice.” A justice of the peace signed three of the seven motions on Tuesday, court officials said. The others are pending.Zephyr’s silencing drew scores of protesters to the state Capitol and renewed nationwide debates about manners in politics. It also took place as conservative lawmakers nationwide have introduced a flurry of anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year.One of the defendants, Paul Kim of Missoula, said his attorney told him the county decided to drop the charges. Phone messages seeking comment Tuesday from County Attorney Kevin Downs and Depu...

Toronto screening room to be renamed after Oscar-winning director Norman Jewison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

TORONTO — Oscar-winning Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison is getting his namesake on a private screening room in Toronto.The Hazelton Hotel, located in the city’s high-end Yorkville neighbourhood, says it will rename its 25-seat cinema after the 97-year-old Toronto director.Jewison is known for an array of Hollywood hits that include “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Moonstruck” and “In the Heat of the Night” and he’s also founder of the Canadian Film Centre.The hotel’s Silver Screening Room will officially become the Norman Jewison Cinema during an invitation-only event held on Sept. 11, timed for the Toronto International Film Festival.The organizers say that high-profile guests, friends and some of Jewison’s collaborators will be in attendance.This isn’t the first space at the Hazelton to honour a legendary Canadian artist. The hotel previously named its private dining room after folk musician Neil Young.This report by The C...

Wisconsin Democrats want to ban sham lawsuits as Republican senator wages war on local news site

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday proposed barring the use of expensive, sham lawsuits to silence criticism after a Republican state senator was accused of trying to bankrupt a local news outlet for reporting on his alleged use of a homophobic slur.The Wausau Pilot & Review reported in 2021 that local businessman Cory Tomczyk, who became a state senator in January, called a 13-year-old boy a homophobic slur during a city meeting where the boy testified in support of a diversity and inclusion measure that had sparked divides in the northern Wisconsin community.Tomczyk denied using the slur and sued the newspaper for defamation. In the course of that lawsuit, three people who were present at the meeting swore that they heard Tomczyk use the word. In a deposition, Tomczyk also admitted to having used the word on other occasions, The New York Times reported. A judge ultimately dismissed the case in April, saying Tomczyk had not proven that the paper defamed him.The...

Bears legend Steve McMichael named 1 of 3 committee finalists for 2024 Hall of Fame class

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

CANTON, Ohio — Steve "Mongo" McMichael is one step closer to the Hall of Fame.On Tuesday, McMichael was selected as one of three finalists for the hall's Seniors Committee.The other two people selected were coach Buddy Parker and former Denver Bronco Randy Gradishar.The three finalists from the Seniors Committee now move on to the main vote for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024. That will be in front of the main 50-person committee that will meet Super Bowl week, with each candidate needing 80 percent approval to get in.Last year, all three finalists from the Seniors Committee were inducted as part of the Class of 2023. The members of this year's class will be announced at the NFL Honors show on Super Bowl week.McMichael was among the first group of 24 players that were picked by the Seniors Committee for consideration for the Class of 2024 back on July 27. On August 15, he made the group of 12 finalists for consideration, putting him in the running to make the group of th...

St. Sabina Church hands out free water amid dangerously hot temperatures

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

CHICAGO — As dangerously hot temperatures overtake Chicago, Saint Sabina Catholic Church is helping some South Side residents enjoy a cold, refreshing reprieve from the heat.On the corner of 79th and Racine, WGN News cameras rolled as a team of volunteers from the Englewood-area church handed out free water.   Hot, humid weather: Excessive Heat Warning in place for Chicago area The good deed comes after Father Michael Pfleger took to Facebook to ask for donations for Wednesday’s water giveaway. The church is known to host water giveaways when there's an excessive heat warning in the area, but Wednesday’s is the first of the summer.  According to Fleger, the church received more than 250 cases of water.  Amid air conditioning and public transportation woes, there’s no opportunity to avoid the heat for some. It’s why volunteers are hoping some ice-cold water will help.  SEE ALSO: Chicago Public Schools prepare for dangerously hot temperatures"A lot of people...

Jet crash in Russia kills 10 and Wagner chief was on passenger list, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A business jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board, Russian emergency officials said. Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list, officials said, but it wasn't immediately clear if he was on board.Unconfirmed media reports said the jet belonged to Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company.Russia’s civilian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said Prigozhin was on the passenger list. However, it was not immediately clear if he had boarded the flight.Russia's state news agency Tass cited emergency officials as saying that the plane carried three pilots and seven passengers. The authorities said they were investigating the crash, which occurred in the Tver region more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Moscow.Prigozhin, whose private military force Wagner fought alongside Russia's regular army in Ukraine, mounted a short-lived armed mutiny against Russia's military leadership in late J...

Texas Pete isn't plaintiff's 1st class action lawsuit. Here's how 3 others went

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

(WGHP) — The Texas Pete lawsuit isn't California man Phillip White's first rodeo.On Sept. 12, White, 28, filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that T.W. Garner Food Co. is deceptively marketing Texas Pete as a Texan product when it's actually made in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. White's complaint, filed on behalf of all people in the U.S. who have purchased Texas Pete hot sauce, asks the court to force Texas Pete to change its name and branding and to give money to past customers. T.W. Garner Food Co. filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Nov. 10, 2022, but U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong denied the motion to dismiss on July 31, 2023.Court records show White has been involved in a number of other cases against brands. White filed a class-action lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Holdings in 2020; The Kroger Company and Fruit of the Earth Inc. in 2021; and Whole Foods Market California and Mrs. Gooch's Natural Food Markets Inc. in 2022. He was re...

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar agree to make changes after OSHA violations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday announced a settlement with the company that runs Dollar Tree and Family Dollar aimed at improving worker safety at thousands of the bargain stores across the country.Labor Department officials cited hazards at the stores including blocked exits, unsafe storage of materials, and improper access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels.Under the agreement, the chains operated by Dollar Tree Inc. are required to find the “root causes” of violations that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has repeatedly cited at multiple stores and fix them within two years, the department said.Assistant Labor Secretary Doug Parker noted that OSHA has issued 403 violations at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores since 2017, resulting in more than $13.1 million in fines to date. The company “made some significant improvement” in worker safety following a 2015 settlement that expired in 2018 but continued violations show more work needs to be...

Texas' interim Attorney General responds to lawsuit over age verification on adult websites

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The interim Attorney General of Texas, Angela Colmenero, issued a response to a lawsuit brought by a coalition of adult content producers over a new law that would require users of adult websites to transmit their legal identification to those websites. Previous: Pornhub, coalition of adult websites sue Texas over law requiring them to collect user’s legal ID That lawsuit, filed by the Free Speech Coalition (FSC), claims that the method would be insufficient in preventing minors from accessing pornographic materials and would present a security risk to adult users. The law also requires adult websites to post "health and safety" messages on their websites. Related: Porn industry group sues over Utah age verification law Colmenero's lengthy response, in excess of a 20-page limit, makes counterarguments to some of FSC's claims.What's in the responseThe key counterargument by Colmenero is that the law, HB 1181, does not violate constitutional rights because the mat...