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Private Equity Billionaire Tied to Jeffrey Epstein Led Industry Backing for Kyrsten Sinema

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s close relationship with the titans of the private equity industry, whose agenda she has relentlessly championed in Congress, continues to bedevil her reelection campaign. In 2018, the first year she was elected to the Senate, she was backed by powerful private equity executives. Leon Black, then the CEO of Apollo Global Management, one of the largest such firms in the world, was one of them. Now Black is back in the headlines, this time accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in the home of Jeffrey Epstein, a serial sex trafficker Black financed with more than $150 million.Black’s support of Sinema is a window into the devil’s bargain the one-time radical leftist cut in order to rise through the ranks. Wall Street financing enabled her rise, even as it has forced her into politically unpopular positions, defending indefensible private equity giveaways in the tax codes, and linked her to unsavory characters always at risk of becoming a public relations liabili...

Iran’s top diplomat urges Pakistan to complete its part of a long-delayed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday urged Pakistan to complete its part of a much-delayed gas pipeline between the two countries, a multi-billion project that has been on hold since 2014. Washington has opposed the pipeline, saying it could violate sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who is on a three-day visit to Islamabad, spoke during a televised news conference with his Pakistani counterpart and host, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “We do believe that the completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is definitely going to serve the national interests of our two countries,” Amirabdollahian said.The project, launched in 2013, required Pakistan to finish the construction of the pipeline on its territory by the end of 2014. But the work stalled, upsetting Tehran, which has said it already invested $2 billion in the pipeline on its side of the border.The two foreign ministers also discussed a range of...

Grieving families confront Pittsburgh synagogue shooter at death penalty sentencing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Grieving families confronted the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter at his sentencing hearing Thursday, one day after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate for the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.The hearing at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh got underway, with some 22 witnesses — survivors of the 2018 massacre and relatives of the 11 people who were fatally shot — expected to deliver victim impact statements. U.S. District Judge Robert Colville was expected to formally sentence Robert Bowers to death later Thursday.“Mr. Bowers, you met my beloved husband in the kitchen. Your callous disregard for the person he was repulses me,” testified Peg Durachko, wife of 65-year-old Dr. Richard Gottfried, a dentist who was shot and killed. “Your hateful act took my soulmate from me.”Mark Simon, whose parents, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, were killed in the attack, testified he still has their bloodied prayer shawl. He sa...

Lizzo está “dolida” por la demanda en su contra presentada por sus exbailarines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

(CNN) — Lizzo habló este jueves sobre una demanda en su contra presentada por tres de sus exbailarines.La denuncia, presentada este martes en el Tribunal Superior de Los Ángeles y obtenida por CNN a través de un abogado de los demandantes, alega que las tres mujeres fueron sometidas a un ambiente de trabajo hostil y acoso mientras trabajaban para la cantante ganadora del Grammy.La demanda también nombra a la productora de Lizzo, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT), y a una persona descrita como “capitán del elenco de baile” como demandados.Este jueves, Lizzo respondió públicamente a la denuncia por primera vez en un comunicado en sus redes sociales verificadas.“Estos últimos días han sido desgarradoramente difíciles y abrumadoramente decepcionantes”, dice su declaración. “Mi ética de trabajo, moral y respeto han sido cuestionados. Por lo general, elijo no responder a las acusaciones falsas, pero son tan increíbles como suenan y demasiado escandalosas para no abordarlas”.Entre l...

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO’s eastern flank

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish and Lithuanian leaders held an urgent meeting Thursday in a strategically sensitive area where their NATO nations border Belarus and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, warning that they are bracing for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in the area.The meeting came two days after two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly at low altitude into Polish air space, in what was viewed as a provocative move. Both nations on NATO’s eastern flank have increased their border security following the arrival of thousands of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries just across their borders in Belarus after an aborted mutiny in Russia in June.“Russia and Belarus are increasing the pressure on the borders, increasing the number of their provocations, and we must be aware that the number of these provocations will grow,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.The Belarusian Foreign Ministry ...

Woman’s escape from cinder block cell may have spared others from similar nightmare, FBI says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A woman who escaped her kidnapper by punching her way out of a cinder block cell at a home in southern Oregon may have spared other women from a similar fate by alerting authorities to a man they now suspect in sexual assaults in at least four more states., the FBI said.Negasi Zuberi posed as an undercover police officer when he kidnapped the woman in Seattle three weeks ago, drove hundreds of miles to his home in Klamath Falls and locked her in the garage cell until she bloodied her hands breaking through the door to escape, the FBI said Wednesday.Zuberi, 29, faces federal charges that include interstate kidnapping, and authorities said they are looking for other possible victims after linking him to the other assaults. Authorities have not yet said publicly in which states those attacks took place. “This woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell,” Stephanie Shark, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Port...

These cars are stolen most often in Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – More than 700,000 vehicles are stolen in any given year, but not all cars are equal targets. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) analyzed federal crime data to determine which cars and trucks were most frequently reported stolen in 2022. They found two pickups took the top spots nationwide. The most frequently stolen vehicle was the full-size Chevrolet pickup truck, followed by full-size Ford pickups, according to the NICB analysis. Interactive map shows which US cities will be underwater in 2050 It's no surprise thieves target Chevy and Ford pickups – they are abundant. The Ford F-Series and the Chevy Silverado were the two top-selling vehicles last year, according to Car and Driver.Two popular Honda sedan models took the No. 3 and 4 spots on the list of most-stolen vehicles.Cars most frequently stolen nationallyThe most frequently stolen vehicles in 2022, according to the NICB, were: Chevrolet pickup (full size)Ford pickup (full size)Honda CivicHonda Acco...

Lawsuit filed against Douglas County schools on racial discrimination claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A group of parents is suing the Douglas County School District over claims of racial discrimination, a lawsuit obtained by FOX31 said.The parents claim their children have been the target of repeated acts of bullying and harassment because of their skin color.The allegations in the 45-page complaint are disturbing. It states that Black and biracial students at Castle Rock Middle School have been called racially offensive names on a regular basis. It also mentions that they were the targets of violent conversations -- like lynchings and shootings.FOX31 investigated the concerns of one parent in May who claimed her son has been a victim of constant harassment and bullying since 2018. She is one of the parents named in this federal lawsuit, among others. Castle Rock mom alleges bullying, racism in school district The lawsuit also describes racial profiling of Black students by teachers and staff, and zeros in on a Snapchat group filled with over 100 students.Screensh...

Florida neighbors concerned after crocodile killed pet dog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

SATELLITE BEACH, Florida (WESH) — On Monday, a crocodile killed a pet dog in the waterways of a Satellite Beach community, raising concern for some neighbors, like Jon Appling, whose backyard is bordered by water.“We have definitely changed the way we act outside now. Looking over your shoulder, so to speak. It could have been my grandson and my puppy up on the grass up right there,” Appling said, pointing to his dog, Zoe, on his lawn that meets the Grand Canal.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called in after the incident, and agents searched but did not find the crocodile. They are monitoring the situation.But with crocodiles outgrowing their traditional habitat in South Florida, many more are making a home and being seen in Brevard, joining the abundant gator population.“It’s increased the amount of individuals, which causes some displacement. And that may cause these crocodiles to venture up north a bit more frequently,” Mack Ralbovsky, a herpetolog...

Florida surfer recalls being bitten with ‘crazy amount of force’ by shark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:43 GMT

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida (WESH) — A 22-year-old surfer from Oviedo is the fourth shark bite victim of the year in Volusia County. The area typically sees more shark bites than any other place in the country.The most recent victim bitten near the inlet in New Smyrna Beach Monday was well aware of the area’s reputation.“First thing I thought is, ‘God, I hope my toes are still there,’ so I looked back and saw my toes were still there,” Brandon Boncore said.Boncore is recovering at home in Oviedo. Thankfully he has his toes, but he also has stitches and is on crutches for at least six weeks after a shark bit his left foot just under the ankle while surfing the inlet. Boncore was riding in his last wave of the morning Monday and fell off the board.“I just felt this crazy amount of force on my foot that didn’t seem to want to let go, and I just kind of kicked it off, jumped on my board and paddled right in. I definitely spooked it a little bit. I probably landed on top ...