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US attorney leading Hunter Biden probe is now a special counsel, Garland announces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that the Trump-appointed US attorney who is investigating Hunter Biden has been given “special counsel” status after plea talks between the Justice Department and the president’s son fell apart.This gives the senior prosecutor, David Weiss, more powers than a typical US attorney and puts the nation in uncharted territory – with three special counsels at the Justice Department currently investigating matters related to the sitting president, his son, and the previous president.The move could also lead to a trial of President Joe Biden’s son.Garland’s order appointing Weiss said he is authorized to “conduct the ongoing investigation … as well as any matters that arose from that investigation or may arise” as the probe continues.Weiss made a request to be elevated to a special counsel on Tuesday. In a court filing Friday, Weiss said that plea talks between his team and Hunter Biden broke down in re...

Who is David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing Hunter Biden criminal probe?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

Washington (CNN) — David Weiss, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney who on Friday was named a special counsel leading the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, has decades of experience as a federal prosecutor.Weiss, the Delaware US attorney, met in April with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, who had requested a routine status update on the investigation. The long-running probe, which began as early as 2018, at one time concerned multiple financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when Joe Biden was vice president.In June, a plea agreement was reached in which Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge. But Weiss said in a court filing Friday that plea talks between his team and Biden broke down in recent weeks after a hearing in Delaware last month where the judge said she wasn’t ready to accept the complex plea deal that was...

‘Bolivar’d’: Roadway in Canton closed to traffic Friday morning after tractor-trailer strikes bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

A section of Bolivar Street in Canton was closed Friday morning after a tractor-trailer truck collided with an overhead bridge.The Canton Police Department shared images from the scene around 8:30 a.m., where a truck’s cab appeared to clear the Bolivar Street Bridge, but not the trailer behind it.“Bolivar St. Bridge remains undefeated,” the police department posted on Facebook, noting that the street would be closed as crews cleaned up the aftermath.“#Bolivar’d, #TheSignsArentLying,” Canton PD added at the end of their post.

Hawaii animal welfare group says hundreds of pets have been injured or displaced by wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.An animal welfare organization in Hawaii says it is seeking donations to help care for hundreds of dogs, cats and other animals that have been injured or separated from their human families because of the wildfires in Maui.The Maui Humane Society says many animals are also in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation.The group said that it expects an inundation of lost pets. It is seeking emergency foster homes, pet food and litter, and cash donations to provide medical care for wounded animals and to keep pets in their homes.As of Friday morning, the organization had raised via Facebook more than h...

Heart conditions and death due to air pollution have risen 30% since 1990, study says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By Theresa Braine, New York Daily NewsAir pollution, especially its tiniest particles, has contributed to a 30% global rise in heart-related disabilities and death since 1990, a new study has found.The pollution connection affected men more than women, while poorer regions of the world were hit harder that wealthier areas, researchers said in the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.The most notable culprit, particulate matter pollution, shows up outside in dirt, dust, soot or smoke from coal- and gas-fueled power plants, vehicle emissions, agriculture, dust, pollen and wildfire smoke, while cooking or heating by the use of coal or wood creates the matter inside.These tiny particles are not picked up by the body’s defenses, and easily get inhaled, making their way into the lungs and bloodstream. They have long been documented as a contributor to numerous health conditions and premature death.For the study, researchers looked at 30 years of data ...

As water reuse expands, proponents battle the ‘yuck’ factor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By Jim Robbins, KFF Health NewsWhen Janet Cruz lost an April election for a Tampa City Council seat, she became a political casualty of an increasingly high-stakes debate over recycled water.During her time in the Florida Legislature, Cruz had supported a new law allowing the use of treated wastewater in local water systems. But many Tampa residents were staunchly opposed to a plan by their water utility to do just that, and Cruz was forced to backtrack, with her spokesperson asserting she had never favored the type of complete water reuse known as “toilet to tap.” She lost anyway, and the water plan has been canceled.Tampa’s showdown may be a harbinger of things to come as climate change and drought cause water shortages in many parts of the country. With few alternatives for expanding supply, cities and states are rapidly adding recycled water to their portfolios and expanding the ways in which it can be used. Researchers say it’s safe — and that it’s essential to move past the 20...

Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s son, as the special counsel.Just as his appointment as special counsel was announced, Weiss notified a federal judge in Delaware that plea deal talks in the Hunter Biden case were at an “impasse.”Garland noted the “extraordinary circumstances” of the matter as he made the announcement at the Justice Department. He said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that “in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel.”“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating...

Hip-hop celebrates 50 years of history, from Bronx beginnings to global glory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By Karu F. Daniels and Leonard Greene, New York Daily NewsRemember Rappin’ Duke? duh-ha, duh-haYou never thought that hip hop would take it this far— Notorious B.I.G.It was simple, really. Take a drum-laden beat, say, James Brown’s “Soul Power,” or Chic’s “Good Times,” lace it with some clever, rhyming lyrics — Mercedes, young ladies ― blend the track, smoothly, into itself over and over again through speakers the size of a small refrigerator, and there you have it, the beginnings of hip hop.It was complex, really. Take a frustrated, unheard generation of young people, a post-’60s culture of poverty and police brutality, mix in creativity and untapped potential, color it with edgy fashion and impossible dance moves, place it under a banner of subway train graffiti, and there you have it, the beginnings of hip hop.It was all those things: a feeling, a sound, a culture, a movement, a memory, a dream, a time. It made you think, it made you cry, it made you dance, it made you high, it m...

Judge warns of restraints to what evidence Trump can talk about, agrees to limited protective order

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump warned on Friday that there are limits on what the former president can publicly say about the investigation as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.Presiding over her first hearing for the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington heard arguments on how to structure a protective order that would prevent a public airing of all the evidence turned over by prosecutors. But she also used the forum to address the case’s unprecedented mix of legal and political concerns.Chutkan stressed that political considerations wouldn’t guide her decisions. She also repeatedly said Trump was subject to the court’s rules as a defendant before trial even as he runs for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.“Your client’s defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet,” C...

Jalen Mills’ reconversion to safety appears to be going well for Patriots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:11 GMT

FOXBORO — In the search for Devin McCourty’s replacement at safety in the Patriots’ starting defense, Jalen Mills made a strong first impression in Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.Mills has some ground to make up if he’s going to be part of the Patriots’ starting unit for the third straight season, however. The good news is that the eight-year veteran made the Patriots’ top defensive play in Thursday’s loss, undercutting rookie wide receiver Tank Dell in a pass from No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud for an interception.“I was actually in man-to-man with the tight end,” Mills explained. “He was in the backfield, though. It was a longer down and distance, so I kind of showed a two-high look. I think it was Myles Bryant who was next to me. Once the tight end kind of chipped and released through, I knew that I could take him from depth, but I just kept eyes on the quarterback. He just so happened to look to his right and my left, and I was able to get underneat...