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President Biden renews call for assault weapons ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

Highlighting Connecticut’s role as a national leader in gun safety, President Joe Biden traveled Friday to the state to hail the most comprehensive gun law in the past three decades and renew his call for a federal ban on assault weapons.As the marquee speaker at a major national gun summit, Biden celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which he signed into law.More than 600 people gathered in West Hartford at the University of Hartford’s Lincoln Theater, a small venue that was chosen for the invitation-only summit long before Biden was confirmed as the main attraction. All seats were filled, and supporters were standing against the wall on the theatre’s far side.“As a kid, I came out of a different movement — the civil rights movement,” Biden told the enthusiastic crowd.The gun safety movement is on the front lines because of daily violence in the United States, he said.“Every damn day in America,” Biden said, his voice rising. “A lot of you are...

Barricaded suspect prompts SWAT standoff at Hillcrest donut shop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police were in a standoff Friday with a suspect who barricaded themself inside a Hillcrest donut shop.The suspect was barricaded inside Donut Star, located at 601 W Washington Street.The circumstances that led to the standoff, and what time the police activity began are not yet known. A SWAT team has been called out to the scene to assist, according to police.This is a developing story, check back for updates.

On this date: Padres icon, Tony Gwynn, passed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- On this date nine years ago, San Diego legend Tony Gwynn passed after fighting a years-long battle against cancer.Nicknamed Mr. Padre, the Hall of Fame outfielder spent 20 seasons with San Diego before his retirement in 2001, during which he earned a name as one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. Gwynn would have turned 63 earlier this year on May 9. A wish come true: 6-year-old slings first pitch at San Diego Padres game "Not a day goes by that we don't miss you, (Mr. Padre)! #19 forever in our hearts," the Padres said in a tweet Friday, remembering the player that has defined the franchise for decades.Gwynn came to the Padres in 1981 as the 58th overall draft pick after playing collegiately at San Diego State University. A dual-sport athlete, he was simultaneously drafted again to play professional basketball in the 10th round by the then-San Diego Clippers.He ultimately signed with the Padres and the rest is history.Three years after arriv...

Despite widespread protest, Reddit CEO says company is ‘not negotiating’ on 3rd-party app charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you hopped on Reddit to scroll through your favorite forums this week, you may have encountered “private” or “restricted” messages. That’s because thousands of subreddits chose to go dark in an ongoing protest over the company’s plan to start charging certain third-party developers to access the site’s data. But Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman told The Associated Press he’s not backing off.“Protest and dissent is important,” Huffman said. “The problem with this one is it’s not going to change anything because we made a business decision that we’re not negotiating on.”Organizers of the protest say Reddit’s new policy threatens to end key ways of historically customizing the platform using an API, or application programming interface, which allows computer programs to communicate with each another. Third-party developers rely on API data to create their apps, which offer access to features that are unavailable in the official Reddit app, p...

The Reddit blackout, explained: Why thousands of subreddits are protesting third-party app charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of Reddit discussion forums have gone dark this week to protest a new policy that will charge some third-party apps to access data on the site, leading to worries about content moderation and accessibility.“Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself),” multiple subreddits wrote in posts seen on the platform’s homepage this week.The new fees are part of broader changes to Reddit’s API, or application programming interface, that the company announced recently. Organizers of the blackout, which began Monday, say Reddit’s changes threaten to end key ways of historically customizing the platform — which relies heavily on the work of volunteer moderators. Subreddit “mods” often use tools outside of the official app to keep their forums free of spam and hateful content, for example, as well as improve accessibility.Nearly 9,000 subreddits went dark this week and more than 4,000 remained dark on Friday, including communit...

Medical Cannabis Commission pauses license awards due to possible scoring problems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Friday pulled back licenses that had been awarded to cultivators, dispensaries and others after discovering potential problems with how applicants were scored.The commission voted during an emergency meeting to indefinitely stay the medical cannabis business licenses that had been awarded Monday for the state’s new medical marijuana program. “The stay is recommended due to the (commission’s) discovery of potential inconsistency in the tabulation of scoring data,” Dr. Steven Stokes, an oncologist who chairs the commission, said during the meeting. Stokes did not elaborate on the problem. Brittany Peters, a spokeswoman for the commission, told The Associated Press that she could not comment further.Stokes said the commission will seek an independent review of all scoring data and will reconsider the issuance of licenses when the stay is lifted. He cast the pause as a temporary setback. “We’re trying t...

Ex-Trump lawyer turned witness against him loses bid for release from probation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s onetime personal lawyer and the key witness against him in his New York state criminal prosecution lost his bid Friday for early release from probation following a three-year prison sentence after federal prosecutors said he’s lying again.U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman in Manhattan cited Michael Cohen’s recent comments in a book and television appearance as reasons to conclude that early release from court supervision would not ensure rehabilitation and deterrence from future crimes.The credibility of Cohen — who served as Trump’s personal lawyer from his early 2017 inauguration until his 2018 arrest — will be scrutinized if a jury ever hears the state criminal case filed against Trump over payments Cohen says he made on Trump’s behalf to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump before the Republican became president.In court papers, federal prosecutors highlighted Cohen’s recent public comments ...

Taiwan opens doors to more Canadian beef 20 years after mad cow disease

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada says it has regained market access to Taiwan for Canadian beef and beef products from animals over 30 months of age.Taiwan imposed import restrictions on beef from animals both over and under 30 months in 2003 after the discovery of Canada’s first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The government says Taiwan lifted restrictions for under-30-month beef in 2016. In a press release Friday, the federal government says the regained access will be an opportunity to expand Canadian beef exports to Taiwan and diversify export markets in the Indo-Pacific Region.Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says in the press release that expanding trade partnerships in that region is a top priority for the federal government.Earlier this year, Japan lifted the last of its restrictions against Canadian beef. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2023.The Canadian Press

Extratropical cyclone kills 3 in southern Brazil, 12 still missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Authorities of the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul said Friday that three people died and 12 were missing after an extratropical cyclone swept through the region. Gov. Eduardo Leite said two people died in the city of Sao Leopoldo and one was killed in Maquine, on the state’s coast.“Our priority at the moment is to find those missing and save people who might still be isolated due to the floods,” Leite said on Twitter. He said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered federal help to handle the crisis.Several roads were still blocked in Rio Grande do Sul, flights to the state’s main cities were cancelled throughout the day and electricity was out across state.Mayors of cities that were affected said twice as much rain fell in 24 hours than would normally be expected for the entire month of June.The mayor of Maquine said on his social media channels that precipitation in his city surpassed 29.4 centimeters (about 11 inches) in one day.The Ass...

Maple Leafs aiming to sign Matthews to 8-year max contract: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

It’s unclear when the news will come and what the number will be, but it appears good news is on the horizon when it comes to Auston Matthews staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs beyond next season.“I still am convinced that Auston Matthews is going to sign in Toronto. I’ve been consistent about that, I still believe it,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during the latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, released Friday.From the viewpoint of Matthews’ camp, Friedman explained that the elite 25-year-old centreman can expect to sign “two more big contracts in his future.”“I think the Maple Leafs are gonna try to get a max-term deal out of this,” Friedman said. “I don’t know what the likelihood is, but I think they’re gonna try.”Per Friedman, new Leafs GM Brad Treliving met with Matthews in Arizona last week. Unlike last summer’s dinner meeting with Jonathan Huberdeau, who signed an eight-ye...