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Feds get first guilty plea in Michigan marijuana board probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A businessman pleaded guilty Friday to bribing the head of a Michigan marijuana licensing board, the first conviction in a federal investigation into payoffs and other benefits before the panel was disbanded in 2019.John Dalaly appeared in federal court in Grand Rapids, two weeks after his plea deal was announced.Dalaly said he provided at least $68,200 in cash and other benefits to Rick Johnson, including two private flights to Canada.Johnson, 70, was chairman of the marijuana board for two years. The board reviewed and approved applications to grow and sell marijuana for medical purposes.Dalaly had a stake in a company that was seeking a license, defense attorney Ray Cassar said.“As soon as the investigation launched, he was on board to accept responsibility,” Cassar told The Associated Press. “This is a good man, 71 years old. Unfortunately he fell into this mess.”Johnson had also recommended that Dalaly hire Johnson’s wife as a consultant to help with his applicat...

‘Very difficult situation:’ Canadians in Khartoum take shelter amid violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

TORONTO — Abdelgadir Eltayeb and his family have no electricity, dwindling food and water, and haven’t been able to venture far from the home in Khartoum where they took shelter after violence exploded in Sudan’s capital this week. The Canadian, who is visiting relatives in Sudan with his wife and two children, says fighting between the country’s army and its rival paramilitary force has unleashed chaos.“It’s a very difficult situation,” the 68-year-old said in a phone interview from Khartoum on Friday.“We lived our worst night last night, and most of today. Shelling and dark smoke covered the sky.” The situation in Sudan’s capital was generally stable a week ago but a skirmish over a planned transition to democratic rule last Saturday escalated into raging battles. The violence so far has killed 413 people and wounded 3,551, according to the World Health Organization. Many have fled the country’s capital for other parts of Sudan...

Court upholds ban on South Africa’s apartheid-era flag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday upheld a ruling that the “gratuitous” public display of the country’s old apartheid-era flag amounts to hate speech and racial discrimination and can be prosecuted.The Supreme Court didn’t, however, give a ruling on whether displaying the national flag from South Africa’s era of brutal racial segregation in the privacy of a home should also be considered hate speech or discriminatory.Arguments over that specific matter should first be presented to the lower court that initially banned the flag in 2019, the Supreme Court said.The decision on the public showing of the old flag, which was South Africa’s national flag from 1928 until it was abolished when the country achieved democracy in 1994, upheld that ruling given by the Equality Court four years ago.Afriforum, a lobby group that says it represents the interests of South Africa’s white Afrikaans people, challenged the...

Woman killed after falling out of Jeep onto Dan Ryan was not wearing seat belt: ISP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman who fell out of an open-air Jeep Wrangler onto the Dan Ryan last Friday was not wearing a seat belt, according to Illinois State Police.The accident happened April 14 around 5 a.m. on southbound I-94 at 28th Street.ISP said the woman was not wearing a seat belt and was driving the Jeep, which did not have doors on it at the time, when she fell on the roadway. She was then struck by two vehicles. Driver dies after falling out of Jeep, being struck by 2 vehicles on Dan Ryan Expressway The driverless Jeep then ran off the roadway and struck a concrete median barrier, according to ISP.The woman was pronounced dead on the scene. Her identity has not yet been released.

Man arrested hours after allegedly carjacking woman in Little Village

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A 20-year-old man is accused of carjacking a woman in Little Village, only to be arrested less than three hours later by Chicago police. Authorities said the arrest of Khalil Ingram occurred around 10:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of S. Washtenaw. The department alleges that Ingram took a vehicle by force in the 2500 block of W. Cermak.SEE ALSO: Chase warns Chicago employees about potential for more downtown disturbancesIngram is charged with a felony count of vehicular hijacking. He was due to appear in court on

Construction on next phase of Texas Capitol Complex project begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New buildings and additions are coming to the Texas Capitol Mall area in downtown Austin. The groundbreaking for Phase 2 of the Texas Capitol Complex project took place Thursday, morning, marking the start of construction of two new state office buildings and one additional block of the pedestrian Capitol Mall along North Congress Avenue, according to the Texas Facilities Commission.The new state office buildings will include: A five-story, 165,000-square-foot building at 1500 Congress Avenue, to be occupied by the Texas Department of Safety and other state agenciesA second office building at 1501 Lavaca, which will be eight-stories-tall, 360,000-square-feet, and will provide state-owned office space.  Both buildings will have onsite parking for state employees.The project is slated to be complete in late 2026 and ready for tenant occupancy in early 2027.Phase 2 of the project also includes the extension of the Capitol Mall from 16th Street to 15...

New Richmond mourns loss of Hai Nguyen, man recovered from St. Croix River

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

Hai Nguyen walked into the New Richmond Chamber of Commerce a few years ago and asked to be added to the email list for chamber events.From then on, Nguyen rarely missed a chamber function. “Hai attended everything and appeared everywhere,” said Rob Kreibich, the chamber’s executive director. “If you didn’t know any better you would have thought he was running for office. He could have taught a master class on how to maximize chamber membership. He was just a joy to talk to.”Nguyen’s schtick was always the same at networking events, Kreibich said. “Going around the room for introductions, he’d always say, ‘Hi, I’m Hai,’ and the crowd loved it,” he said. “We were like a second family to him because he liked people so much. He fed off people, and the chamber allowed him to do that.”On Wednesday, law enforcement officials pulled Nguyen’s body from the St. Croix River in Hudson. Nguyen, whom law enforcement officers called a “vulnerable adult,” had been missing since March 3. He was 31....

State unveils strategy to prevent mass shootings, other violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – This week on Empire State Weekly, in response to increased threats of so-called "targeted violence," New York State has launched the Targeted Violence Prevention Strategy. Multiple state agencies will work with communities to identify and prevent violence, like the mass shootings in Buffalo and Brooklyn last year. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Jackie Bray, the Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, explained that "domestic violence extremists are the number one terrorists threat to New Yorkers." The new Targeted Violence Prevention Strategy will bring together multiple agencies with community partners to identify individuals or groups that may commit violence. Those same agencies will then respond to disrupt potential violence by deploying mental health and other community resources.Also this week, Inspector General Lucy Lang took office roughly on...

Historic cannon returns to Saratoga National Historical Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A historic six-pound cannon is returning to the Saratoga National Historical Park. The cannon was donated by the Department of the Army to the National Park Service. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “The National Park Service is honored to continue to be the stewards of this significant piece of history from the Battles and Siege of Saratoga,” said Superintendent Leslie Morlock. “It has been a pleasure to partner with the Department of the Army to recover Cannon #102 and secure its return to Saratoga National Historical Park, where it will remain in our care.”  The bronze cannon was crafted in 1756 and captured by the Continental Army in October 1777 when the British Army was defeated at the Battles and Siege of Saratoga. Only three of the original 18 light six-pound cannons captured at Saratoga are known to remain in existence. New grant available for property owners through Gloversville...

Work resumes on Adirondack Rail Trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Sunny spring weather means a return to work for a rail trail project in the Adirondacks, On Friday, the DEC announced the resumption of work on phase 1 of the Adirondack Rail Trail. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Construction has begun between Station Street in Lake Placid and Broadway in Saranac Lake. As the project uses an existing corridor, the affected area will be closed while construction is underway to link the two communities. Recreation is allowed at users' own risk along parts of the corridor where construction has yet to begin.Once finished, the Adirondack Rail Trail will link Lake Placid and Saranac Lake further still to Tupper Lake, spanning 34 miles. The trail will be made of compacted stone dust, and its first phase is expected to be complete by the fall. Where to bike around the Adirondacks Phase 1 broke ground last November, pausing over the winter. Bids for construction were sub...